Publication
Title
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in indoor dust collected during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Saudi Arabia : status, sources and human health risks
Author
Abstract
To control the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Saudi Arabia's government imposed a strict lockdown during March-July 2020. As a result, the public was confined to indoors, and most of their daily activities were happening in their indoor places, which might have resulted in lower indoor environment quality. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analyzed in household dust (n = 40) collected from different residential districts of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, during the lockdown period. PAHs' levels were two folds higher than the previously reported PAHs in indoor dust from this region. We detected low molecular weight (LMW) with two to four aromatic ring PAHs in all the samples with a significant contribution from Phenanthrene (Phe), present at an average concentration of 1590 ng/g of dust. Although high molecular weight (HMW) (5-6 aromatic ring) PAHs were detected at lower concentrations than LMW PAHs, however, they contributed >90% in the carcinogenic index of PAHs. The estimated daily intake (EDI) of specific PAHs was above the reference dose (RfD) for young children in high-end exposure and the calculated Incremental Lifetime Cancer Risk (ILCR) was >1.00 x 10(-4) for both Saudi adults and young children. The study highlighted that indoor pollution has increased significantly during lockdown due to the increased indoor activities and inversely affect human health. This study also warrants to conduct more studies involving different chemicals to understand the indoor environment quality during strict lockdown conditions.
Language
English
Source (journal)
International journal of environmental research and public health. - Basel, 2004, currens
Publication
Basel : MDPI , 2021
ISSN
1661-7827 [print]
1660-4601 [online]
DOI
10.3390/IJERPH18052743
Volume/pages
18 :5 (2021) , 15 p.
Article Reference
2743
ISI
000628146300001
Pubmed ID
33800440
Medium
E-only publicatie
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
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Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 05.05.2021
Last edited 17.11.2024
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