Abstract:
The ambient and indoor air concentrations of PM10 and PM10-bound PAHs (16 priority PAHs) were investigated in Rayong Province, Thailand. The locations of the selected study areas were Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate and its vicinity comprising six sampling sites (four industrial areas and two vicinity areas). The indoor and ambient air samples were collected in March 2017. The sampling sites located close to the road were detected the greatest ambient average concentrations of PM10, with an average value of 56.06 µg m-3 (Map Chalut Area or MC). The levels of indoor PM10 were mostly dependent on the resident activities and the highest mean level of PM10 was 31.29 µg m-3 detected at Huai Pong. The Benzo(b)fluoranthene and acenaphthylene were the major PAHs found to have the highest 24-h average concentrations for both indoor and ambient air. The highest mean ambient and indoor air levels of benzo(b)fluoranthene were 49.18 and 30.88 ng m-3, respectively, found at MC. In terms of 16 total PAHs, MC was found to have the greatest level. Analysis of the diagnostic ratios determined that the traffic density was the major source of influence on particle-bound PAH concentrations for both ambient and indoor air samples, which indicated that the greater the traffic volume, the higher the level of PAHs. © 2021, Chulalongkorn University - Environmental Research Institute. All rights reserved.