Assessment of Sources and Health Risks of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the Street Dust of Dezful City

Street dust is mainly affected by the pollution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHs are a group of organic pollutants consisting of two or more benzene rings and are mainly produced during incomplete combustion. PAHs have attracted widespread attention due to their high carcinogenic and mutagenic properties in humans. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the sources and extent of the impact of these compounds on human health and the environment. To achieve this goal, 30 dust samples were collected from the sidewalks of the main streets of Dezful and the concentration of PAHs was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The total concentration of PAHs in street dust of Dezful varied from 562.85 to 51447.10 μg / kg. The ratio of carcinogenic compounds to total PAHs was in the range between 0.73 to 0.91. Low molecular weight and high molecular weight PAHs accounted for 12% and 88% of total PAHs, respectively. The most important sources of PAHs in Dezful are the combustion of fossil fuels and petroleum products and emissions from vehicles and traffic. Moreover, incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) in pathways ingestion in children was higher than in adults, but the ILCR in pathways dermal contact and inhalation in adults was higher than in children. The total cancer risk (CR) for children (5.77×10-3) was higher than adults (5.56×10-3), which shows the high potential for CR in the study area.