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Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) Testing Services
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) are commonly refers to a large class of organic compounds that contain carbon and hydrogen and consist of two or more fused aromatic rings. PAHs are emitted into the Canadian environment from both natural and anthropogenic sources. Forest fires, which releases approximately 2000 tons of PAHs per year.
Major sources of PAHs to the aquatic and soil environments include creosote-treated products, spills of petroleum products, metallurgical and coking plants, and deposition of atmospheric PAHs. In air, soil, and water, PAHs are mostly adsorbed to particulate matter, on which they are transported and can be degraded slowly. Since degradation is very slow in sediments, this medium is the major environmental sink for PAHs.
Aquatic life is the most affected by polycyclic hydrocarbons. In particular, aquatic organisms are very vulnerable to the phototoxic effects of PAHs that accumulate in their tissues.
Although the health effects of individual PAHs are not exactly alike, the following 18 PAHs are considered as a group in this profile:
- Acenaphthene
- Acenaphthylene
- Anthracene
- Benz[a]anthracene
- Benzo[b]fluoranthene
- Benzo[k]fluoranthene
- Benzo[ghi]perylene
- Benzo[a]pyrene
- Chrysene
- Dibenz[a,h]anthracene
- Fluoranthene
- Fluorene
- Indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene
- 1-Methylnaphthalene
- 2-Methylnaphthalene
- Naphthalene
- Phenanthrene
- Pyrene
PAH analysis at PPB Analytical can provide individual compounds or group at industrial exposure levels (ppm) or environmental levels (ppb).