Analysis of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon content of airborne particulate pollutants in a Søderberg paste plant

A method of enrichment and separation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in air samples is described. Airborne particulate samples from the work atmosphere of a Soderberg carbon-paste plant were collected on glass fiber and Acropor filters using high volume samplers. The filters were Soxhlet-extracted using cyclohexane and extractable matter was subject to a liquid/liquid separation. The PAH-fraction was concentrated and separated on a gas chromatographic system with the possibility of mass spectrometric identification. More than 40 PAH compounds and some heterocyclic compounds having from 3-6 rings have been separated and identified. Quantitative determinations show that some of the PAH-components are 2-3 decades more abundant than recently reported data from urban air samples. The results are presented as a PAH-profile. It is suggested that the PAH-profile may be a characteristic of the process involved. Furthermore, the profile has a potential use of the profile in evaluating potentially hazardous risk of the PAH's.