Significance and Use
5.1 Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) as defined by this test method are compounds made up of two or more fused aromatic rings.
5.2 Several PAH are considered to be probable human carcinogens.
5.3 PAH are emitted in the atmosphere primarily through wood or fossil fuel combustion.
5.4 Two- and three-ring PAH are typically present in urban air at concentrations ranging from 10 to several hundred nanograms per cubic metre (ng/m3); those with four or more rings are usually found at concentrations of a few ng/m3 or lower.
5.5 PAH span a broad spectrum of vapor pressures (for example, from 1.1 × 10–2 kPa for naphthalene to 2 × 10–13 kPa for coronene at 25°C). Table 1 lists some PAH that are frequently found in ambient air. Those with vapor pressures above about 10–8 kPa will be present in the ambient air substantially distributed between the gas and particulate phases. This test method will permit the collection of both phases. However, particulate-phase PAH will tend to be lost from the particulate filter during sampling due to desorption and volatilization.