Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in bulk precipitation and runoff waters in an urban region (Poland)

Abstract Determination of the PAHs in precipitation and runoff waters permits the identification of the ways of their dissemination in the environment. The task is complicated by the two forms with which the compounds are present in these samples, i.e. dissolved in water and adsorbed on solid particles (dust). The study presented in this paper includes tracing of 16 selected compounds from the PAHs group at 10 precipitation sampling sites and 5 runoff sampling sites located across the “Threecity” (Gdansk–Sopot–Gdynia). The recovery was performed using the solid phase extraction technique. PAH determinations were carried out by means of a GC-MS system. Among the 16 compounds selected for the study, naphthalene, phenanthrene+anthracene, fluoranthene and pyrene were found most frequently and at top concentrations (from few ng l −1 up to several hundred ng l −1 ), while dibenzo( a,h )anthracene, indeno(1,2,3- c,d )pyrene, benzo( a )pyrene, and benzo( g,h,i )perylene were present at concentrations close to the detection limit only. An attempt to correlate PAHs concentration with the percentage of coal stoves used for heating in the area gave coefficient of correlation ( R 2 ) equal to 0.85 and 0.78, for rainwater and runoff, respectively, while PAHs concentration vs. traffic intensity correlation yielded the respective values of 0.40 and 0.54.