Concentration and Source Assessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Street Soil of Ma’an City, Jordan

• Published in: Archives of environmental contamination and toxicology Vol. 77; no. 4; pp. 619 - 630
• Main Authors: Alsbou, Eid, Zaitoun, Mohammed A., Alasoufi, Ali M., Al Shra’ah, Ahmad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.11.2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acetone; Cities; Correlation analysis; Correlation coefficient; Correlation coefficients; Diagnostic systems; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Environmental Pollution - analysis; Environmental protection; Gas chromatography; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Jordan; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; n-Hexane; Organic matter; Pollution; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - analysis; Soil analysis; Soil Pollutants - analysis; Soil Science & Conservation; Soils; Ultrasonic testing; Variance analysis; Jordan; Cities
• ISSN: 0090-4341; 1432-0703
• DOI: 10.1007/s00244-019-00665-2

In this study, the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in the street soil of Ma’an City, Jordan. The probable sources of PAHs in the soils were estimated by using diagnostic ratios. PAHs were extracted from soil samples via the ultrasonic extraction method using three portions of 20 mL of n-hexane/acetone mixture. The most priority environmental protection agency 13 PAHs were determined in the extract using gas chromatography–mass spectrometer. The results showed that average concentrations of ∑13PAHs ranged from 77.0 to 917.4 ng/g, and the 3- and 4-rings PAHs were the most abundant PAHs detected in the soil samples (~ 60% of the PAH total concentrations). The ratios showed that the PAHs in Ma’an’s street soil have both petrogenic and pyrogenic sources. Pearson’s correlation coefficient analysis showed that the content of ∑13PAHs is directly correlated to the total organic matter (TOM) in the soil. Analysis of variance indicated that Ma’an city mostly had the same sources for ∑13PAHs.