Seasonal variations of atmospheric heterocyclic aromatic amines in Beijing, China

Heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) belong to a group of substances associated with a high mutagenic and carcinogenic potential. This study reports that carcinogenic HAAs may be present in airborne particles. Airborne particles (PM10) were sampled from March 2005 to January 2006 at four urban sites in Beijing. Collected particulate matter was analyzed for six HAAs using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence and UV detection. Clear seasonal variations of HAAs were observed with seasonal mass concentrations ranging from 0.66 ± 0.20 ng m− 3 (summer) to 19.76 ± 14.38 ng m− 3 (autumn). The carcinogenic amino-imidazo-azaarenes, including 2-Amino-3-methyl-3H-imidazo[4,5-f] quinoline (IQ), 2-Amino-3,4-dimethyl-3H-imidazo[4,5-f] quinoline (MeIQ), and 2-Amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b] pyridine (PhIP), were the major components with 75.2–87.0% of the total HAAs during the whole year except for summer. 3-Amino-1-methyl-5H-pyrido[3,4-b] indole (Trp-P-2), 2-Amino-9H-pyrido[2,3-b] indole (AαC), and 2-Amino-3-methyl-9H-pyrido[2,3-b] indole (MeAαC), with similar structures, were found to have similar seasonal patterns and strong correlations (r = 0.63–0.90) throughout the observation, which indicates that they most likely come from similar emission sources. Positive correlations between site-specific HAA concentrations and the relative humidity were observed. Of the different sites studied, the total HAA concentrations were most abundant at commercial sites and the smallest at residential sites. The combustion aerosols emitted from cooking, coal, and petroleum may be the sources of these carcinogens in the atmosphere, and cooking emissions may probably play an important role in Beijing's HAAs pollution.

► We determine the seasonal concentrations of PM10-bound HAAs in Beijing.
► Trp-P-2, AαC, and MeAαC have strong correlations throughout the observation.
► Total HAA concentrations and the relative humidity are positively correlated.
► Cooking emissions may probably play an important role in Beijing's HAAs pollution.