Compositional Pattern and Human Exposure Risk of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Fine Dust from Indoor Environments in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Indoor fine dusts in residential buildings, public buildings and vehicles from Port Harcourt, Nigeria were assessed for their polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) concentrations, compositional patterns, and human exposure risks. The PAHs in the dust samples were quantified by gas chromatograph equipped with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) after extraction by ultra-sonication with hexane/dichloromethane/acetone and cleaned up on a silica gel/alumina column. The Σ16 PAH concentrations in these indoor fine dusts ranged from 3136 µg kg-1 to 44332 µg kg-1 , 2580 µg kg-1 to 15372 µg kg-1 and 7248 µg kg-1 to 11246 µg kg-1 for residential buildings, public buildings and vehicles respectively. The compositional pattern of the PAHs in the indoor fine dusts from the residential buildings was in the order: 5>3>6>4>2 rings, while in the public buildings and vehicles, the compositional patterns followed the order: 3>5>6>4>2 rings, and 5>6>3>4>2 rings respectively. The BaPTEQ for all the dust samples ranged from 356 to 42321 µg kg-1 while the BaPMEQ values varied from 338 to 41209 µg kg-1 . The hazard index (HI) values for PAHs in indoor fine dust from these indoor environments were generally