Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by gas chromatography — ion trap tandem mass spectrometry and source identifications by methods of diagnostic ratio in the ambient air of Campo Grande, Brazil

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in samples collected from July to December of 2003, in Campo Grande — MS (Brazil), on three different sites: Ary Coelho Square (AC), Indigenous Nations' Park (NI) and Indubrasil (IB). Particle-bound PAHs were collected on quartz filters and gas-phase PAHs on glass cartridges using a polyurethane foam sampler, respectively. The substances of interest were extracted with a dichloromethane/methanol mixture (9:1 v/v) and subjected to gas chromatography — ion trap tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). The concentration values of PAHs in AC varied from 0.03 to 26.28 μg m− 3 and the average value for the sum of 16 PAHs was 51.35 μg m− 3 (range: 2.98–79.91 μg m− 3). On the NI site were obtained values of PAHs with concentrations of between 0.02 and 13.84 μg m− 3 and an average value for the total of 16 PAHs was equal to 46.76 μg m− 3 (range: 21.20–85.32 μg m− 3). The PAH concentrations obtained in the IB sampling site varied from 0.02 to 16.74 μg m− 3, with the obtained medium value, for the total of 16 PAHs, equal to 42.79 μg m− 3 (range: 26.53–58.49 μg m− 3). Strong positive correlations were found among samples (r: 0.70 to 0.97, p < 0.005) in 39% of the associations and non-significant correlations were observed among PAHs, except for Flu–Acy, BaA–Phe, Chry–BaA, BkF–Naph, BaP–Phe and BghiP–Naph that were poorly correlated. The statistical analysis of the data showed high similarity among samples on the three sites. The diagnostic ratios indicated the vehicular traffic (diesel and gasoline engines) and the biomass combustion, as major PAH sources in the three sampling sites.