Recognition and Health Impacts of Organic Pollutants with Significantly Different Proportions in the Gas Phase and Size-Fractionated Particulate Phase in Ambient Air

摘要

The distributions of organic pollutants in the gasphase and size-fractionated particle phases can largely affect humanhealth risks posed by them. Gas-particle partitioning and particle-size distributions of some known pollutants have been investigated.However, the pollutants which are more likely to enter the humanbody and cause strong adverse effects may be neglected. In thisstudy, a nontargeted screening approach combining comprehen-sive two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight massspectrometry and chemometrics was developed. Eighty-eightcompounds with markedly different proportions in the gas phaseand PM1, as well as 50 contaminants with significant differences inPM1and particles with diameters of 1-2.5 mu m, were identified. Ofthese compounds, 18 were found in the air for thefirst time. Therewere obvious discrepancies between the measured and predicted gas-particle partitioning coefficients for some pollutants,suggesting unexpected environmental fates and health risks. The human daily intakes through inhalation and dermal exposure tothese pollutants were estimated with the International Commission on Radiological Protection deposition model and transdermalpermeability model. A risk-based prioritization was performed. The results indicated that adverse effects posed by 9H-fluoren-9-one,2-ethylhexyl 3-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl) propionate,p-cumenol, 2,4-diisocyanato-1-methyl-benzene, bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, perylene, (E)-cinnamaldehyde, 4-methyl-2-nitro-phenol, benzoic acid, and bis(2-methylpropyl) ester hexanedioic acid inambient air may be more severe than those posed by conventionally monitored pollutants. Thefindings would facilitate raisingconcerns about these pollutants before they cause further severe and widespread impacts.