Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon contamination in an urban area assessed by Quercus ilex leaves and soil

We investigated the PAH contamination of Naples urban area, densely populated and with high traffic flow, by analyses of environmental matrices: soil and Quercus ilex leaves. Being some PAHs demonstrated to have hazardous effects on human health, the accumulation of carcinogenic and toxic PAHs (expressed as B(a)Peq) was evaluated in the leaves and soil. The main sources of the PAHs were discriminated by the diagnostic ratios in the two matrices. The urban area appeared heavily contaminated by PAHs, showing in soil and leaves total PAH concentrations also fivefold higher than those from the remote area. The soil mainly accumulated heavy PAHs, whereas leaves the lightest ones. Median values of carcinogenic PAH concentrations were higher in soil (440 ng g(-1) d.w.) and leaves (340 ng g(-1) d.w.) from the urban than the remote area (60 and 70 ng g(-1) d.w., respectively, for soil and leaves). Also, median B(a)Peq concentrations were higher both in soil and leaves from the urban (137 and 63 ng g(-1) d.w., respectively) than those from the remote area (19 and 49 ng g(-1) d.w., respectively). Different from the soils, the diagnostic ratios found for the leaves discerned PAH sources in the remote and urban areas, highlighting a great contribution of vehicular traffic emission as main PAH source in the urban area.