Cumulative health risk assessment of halogenated and parent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons associated with particulate matters in urban air

• HPAHs and parent PAHs were detected in airborne PM10/PM2.5 samples.
• Children have the highest DI level of HPAHs and PAHs via inhalation exposure.
• The ILCRs induced by HPAHs and PAHs are far below the priority risk level (10−4).
• This is the first study to report the potential health risk of PM10/PM2.5-bound HPAHs.

Halogenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (HPAHs) have been reported to occur widely in urban air. Nevertheless, knowledge about the human health risk associated with inhalation exposure to HPAHs is scarce so far. In the present study, nine HPAHs and 16 PAHs were determined in atmospheric particulate matter (PM) collected from Shenzhen, China to address this issue. Concentrations of Σ9HPAHs varied from 0.1 to 1.5 ng/m3 and from 0.09 to 0.4 ng/m3 in PM10 and PM2.5 samples, respectively. As for individuals, 9-bromoanthracene, 7-bromobenz(a)anthracene, and 9,10-dibromoanthracene were the dominant congeners. Levels of Σ16PAHs in PM10 and PM2.5 samples ranged from 3.2 to 81 ng/m3 and from 2.8 to 85 ng/m3, respectively. Among individual PAHs, chrysene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, and indeno[1,2,3-c,d]pyrene were the main congeners. According to the season, concentrations of HPAHs and PAHs in atmospheric PM10/PM2.5 samples show a similar decreasing trend with an order: winter>autumn>spring>summer. The daily intake (DI) of PM10/PM2.5-bound HPAHs and PAHs were estimated. Our results indicated that children have the highest DI levels via inhalation exposure. The incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) induced by PM10/PM2.5-bound HPAHs and PAHs were calculated. The ILCR values showed a similar decreasing trend with an order: adults>children>seniors>adolescent. Overall, the ILCR values induced by HPAHs and PAHs were far below the priority risk level (10−4), indicating no obvious cancer risk. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the human health risk associated with inhalation exposure to PM10/PM2.5-bound HPAHs.