Diurnal Variation, Vertical Distribution and Source Apportionment of Carcinogenic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Chiang-Mai, Thailand

Diurnal variation of particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was investigated by collecting PM10 at three different sampling altitudes using high buildings in the city center of Chiang-Mai, Thailand, during the relatively cold period in late February 2008. At site-1 (12 m above ground level), B[a]P concentrations ranged from 30.3-1,673 pg $m^{-3}$ with an average of $506{\pm}477\;pg\;m^{-3}$ contributing on average, $8.09{\pm}8.69%$ to ${\Sigma}PAHs$. Ind and B[b]F concentrations varied from 54.6 to 4,579 pg $m^{-3}$ and from 80.7 to 2,292 pg $m^{-3}$ with the highest average of $1,187{\pm}1,058\;pg\;m^{-3}$ and $963{\pm}656\;pg\;m^{-3}$, contributing on average, $19.0{\pm}19.3%$ and $15.4{\pm}12.0%$ to ${\Sigma}PAHs$, respectively. Morning maxima were predominantly detected in all observatory sites, which can be described by typical diurnal variations of traffic flow in Chiang-Mai City, showing a morning peak between 6 AM. and 9 AM. Despite the fact that most monitoring sites might be subjected to specific-site impacts, it could be seen that PAH profiles in Site-1 and Site-2 were astonishingly homogeneous. The lack of differences suggests that the source signatures of several PAHs become less distinct possibly due to the impacts of traffic and cooking emissions from ground level.