Influence of vehicle population on atmospheric levels of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Application of the linear regression between vehicle types/numbers and PAH contents (Particle + Vapor) within a radius of 60 and 300 miles can be employed to assess the impact of long range atmospheric transportation (LRAT) to the level of PAHs in the rural atmosphere of Whitbourne,UK.In general,higher R-values coupled with lower P-values were found in those samples within a radius of 300 miles,whereas lower R-values were detected in those samples within a radius of 60 miles.R-values of PAH concentrations vs.all vehicle numbers within radius of 300 miles ranged from 0.51 to 0.92 with the arithmetic mean of 0.75 ± 0.12,whilst those R-values within a radius of 60 miles ranged from 0.05 to 0.61 with the arithmetic mean of 0.11 ± 0.28.This supports the hypothesis that PAHs in Whitbourne undergo LRAT.