Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in road dust over Greater Cairo, Egypt

Road dust samples were collected during 2005 and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined. Sites under investigation were selected to represent the different parts of Greater Cairo, Egypt. Estimation and spatial distribution pattern of PAHs in road dust were the main objectives of this study. The road dust samples were collected from 17 sites over greater Cairo. The concentration of PAHs was determined by using HPLC technique. Twelve common environmental PAHs were found to be distributed. The present data illustrated that the total average of PAHs over the investigated sites was ranged from 0.045 to 2.6 mg/kg. On individual scale, the highest concentrations were 1.031 and 1.028 mg/kg for pyrene and phenanthrene, meanwhile the lowest was benzo(a)pyrene with value 0.0001 mg/kg. The obtained results showed that the carcinogenic content of PAHs (naphthalene, benzo(a)anthracene, chrysene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene and benzo(a)pyrene) ranged from 0.8 to 46.6% of total PAHs. It has been concluded from the present work that PAHs concentrations are greater and closer to traffic routes and industrial activities.