Occurrence, distribution and health risk from polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAHs, oxygenated-PAHs and azaarenes) in street dust from a major West African Metropolis

Scientific evidence suggests that the burden of disease on urban residents of sub-Saharan African Countries is increasing, partly as a result of exposure to elevated concentrations of toxic environmental chemicals. However, characterization of the levels, composition pattern and sources of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) in environmental samples from African cities is still lacking. This study measured the PAHs, oxygenated-PAHs (OPAHs) and azaarene (AZAs) content of street dusts collected from Kumasi, Ghana (a major metropolis located in the tropical forest zone of West Africa). The ∑Alkyl+parent-PAHs, ∑OPAHs and ∑AZAs concentration in street dust averaged 2570ngg−1 (range: 181–7600ngg−1), 833ngg−1 (57–4200ngg−1) and 73ngg−1 (3.3–240ngg−1), respectively. The concentrations of ∑Alkyl+parent-PAHs were strongly correlated (n=25) with ∑OPAHs (r=0.96, p