Possible Influence of Shipping Emissions on PAHs in Size-Segregated Particulate Matter in Guanabara Bay (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Most goods in the world are transported by ships, which are powered by fossil fuels and responsible for atmospheric emissions. This study carries out an evaluation of particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere of Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It involves using a MOUDI (Micro-Orifice Uniform Deposit Impactor) cascade impactor, followed by solvent extraction and subsequent chemical analysis by gas chromatography, for the determination of anthracene (ANT), benzo(a)anthracene (BaA), benzo(b)fluoranthene (BbF), benzo(k)fluoranthene (BkF), chrysene (CRY), fluoranthene (FLT), phenanthrene (PHE) and pyrene (PYR). Samples (57) were collected from October 2019 to January 2021 during 24 h. The average values of coarse particles ranged from 0.46 ng m-3 for FLT to 6.07 ng m-3 for PHE; in fine particles, it was from 0.518 to 4.20 ng m-3 for PHE; no FLT was detected in the ultrafine and the maximum value generated was 4.77 ng m-3 for PHE. FLT was also not detected in the nanoparticles, where the maximum value was 2.43 ng m-3 for PHE.