Abstract
Several nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (nitro-PAH) are direct-acting mutagens1,2 and/or carcinogens2–4, and are important constituents of combustion emissions and ambient air. These nitro-PAH are emitted from various combustion sources including gasoline and diesel engine exhaust5–8, aluminium smelting effluent9, coal fly ash10, wood smoke6, and cigarette smoke condensates11. Of these, diesel engine exhaust is the best characterized6–8, more than 50 nitrated polycyclic aromatic compounds having been identified by Paputa-Peck et al.8, including 1-nitropyrene (1-NP) as the single most abundant nitro-PAH. However, nitro-PAH may also be formed during source–receptor transport by atmospheric reactions of adsorbed or gas-phase PAH with oxides of nitrogen, nitric acid and other atmospherically important species such as the OH radical1,12–14. Evidence for the atmospheric formation of nitro-PAH has come only recently, from observations that 2-nitropyrene (2-NP)15–17 and 2-nitrofluoranthene (2-NF)16,17 neither of which has been reported to be emitted from combustion sources, are among the major nitro-PAH present in ambient air. We present here data from several locations which demonstrate that these two atmospherically formed nitro-PAH are ubiquitous in tropospheric ambient air.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Pitts, J. N. Jr et al. Science 202, 515–519 (1978).
Rosenkranz, H. S. & Mermelstein, R. Mutat. Res. 114, 217–267 (1983).
Poirier, L. A. & Weisburger, E. K. J. natn. Cancer Inst. 62, 833–840 (1979).
Ohgaki, H. et al. Carcinogenesis 5, 583–585 (1984).
Tejada, S. B., Zweidinger, R. B. & Sigsby, J. E. Jr S.A.E. Pap. No. 820775 (Society of Automotive Engineers, Pittsburgh, 1982).
Gibson, T. L. Atmos. Envir. 16, 2037–2040 (1982).
Schuetzle, D., Lee, F. S.-C., Prater, T. J. & Tejada, S. B. Int. J. envir. analyt. Chem. 9, 93–144 (1981).
Paputa-Peck, M. C. et al. Analyt. Chem. 55, 1946–1954 (1983).
Oehme, M., Manø, S. & Stray, H. J. high Resolut. Chromat. Chromat. Commun. 5, 417–423 (1982).
Harris, W. R., Chess, E. K., Okamoto, D., Remsen, J. F. & Later, D. W. Envir. Mutagen. 6, 131–144 (1984).
McCoy, E. C. & Rosenkranz, H. S. Cancer Lett. 15, 9–13 (1982).
Nielsen, T., Ramdahl, T. & Bjørseth, A. Envir. Hlth Perspect. 47, 103–114 (1983).
Pitts, J. N. Jr Envir. Hlth Perspect. 47, 115–140 (1983).
Pitts, J. N. Jr, Zielinska, B., Sweetman, J. A., Atkinson, R. & Winer, A. M. Atmos. Envir. 19, 911–915 (1985).
Nielsen, T., Seitz, B. & Ramdahl, T. Atmos. Envir. 18, 2159–2165 (1984).
Pitts, J. N. Jr, Sweetman, J. A., Zielinska, B., Winer, A. M. & Atkinson, R. Atmos. Envir. 19, 1601–1608 (1985).
Sweetman, J. A. et al. Atmos. Envir. 20, 235–238 (1986).
Fitz, D. R., Doyle, G. J. & Pitts, J. N. Jr J. Air Pollut. Control. Ass. 33, 877–879 (1983).
Steen, B. A. Envir. Int. 11, 105–109 (1985).
May, W. E., Chesler, S. N., Hertz, H. S. & Wise, S. A. Int. J. Envir. Analyt. Chem. 12, 259–275 (1982).
May, W. E. et al. in Identification and Analysis of Organic Pollutants in Air (ed. Keith, L. H.) 197–230 (Butterworth, Woburn, 1984).
Ramdahl, T. et al. J. high Resolut. Chromat. Chromat. Commun. 8, 849–852 (1985).
Ramdahl, T., Becher, G. & Bjørseth, A. Envir. Sci. Technol. 16, 861–865 (1982).
Wise, S. A. et al. Envir. Int. 11, 147–160 (1985).
Nishioka, M. G., Howard, C. C. & Lewtas, J. Pap. presented at 10th Int. Symp. Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Columbus, 21–23 October (1985).
Nielsen, T. & Ramdahl, T. Atmos. Envir. (in the press).
Jäger, J. J. Chromat. 152, 575–578 (1978).
Morita, K., Fukamachi, K. & Tokiwa, H. Eisei Kagaku 29, 199–205 (1983).
Brorström-Lunden, E. & Lindskog, A. Envir. Sci. Technol. 19, 313–316 (1985).
Jäger, J. & Hanus, V. J. Hyg. Epidem. Microbiol. Immun. 24, 1–12 (1980).
Tokiwa, H., Nakagawa, R., Morita, K. & Ohnishi, Y. Mutat. Res. 85, 195–205 (1981).
Wu, C.-H. & Niki, H. Environ. Sci. Technol. 19, 1089–1094 (1985).
Nielsen, T. Envir. Sci. Technol. 18, 157–163 (1984).
Ramdahl, T. Nature 306, 580–582 (1983).
Pitts, J. N. Jr, Atkinson, R., Sweetman, J. A. & Zielinska, B. Atmos. Envir. 19, 701–705 (1985).
Biermann, H. W., Mac Leod, H., Atkinson, R., Winer, A. M. & Pitts, J. N. Jr Envir. Sci. Technol. 19, 244–248 (1985).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ramdahl, T., Zielinska, B., Arey, J. et al. Ubiquitous occurrence of 2-nitrofluoranthene and 2-nitropyrene in air. Nature 321, 425–427 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/321425a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/321425a0
This article is cited by
-
Mineral dust aerosols promote the formation of toxic nitropolycyclic aromatic compounds
Scientific Reports (2016)
-
Study of nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in particulate matter in Dongguan
Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2014)
-
Detection of nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in mainstream and sidestream tobacco smoke using electron monochromator-mass spectrometry
Environmental Chemistry Letters (2009)
-
Analysis of nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry (2006)
-
Shpol'skii spectrometry, a distinct method in environmental analysis
Mikrochimica Acta (1997)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.