Distribution of selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in urban soils of Delhi, India

Selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) including naphthalene, fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene (low molecular weight) and fluoranthene, pyrene, benzo[a]pyrene (high molecular weight) were analysed in urban soil samples. Benzo[a]pyrene is considered as an environmental toxicity indicator. The samples were collected from different locations of megacity Delhi during pre- and post-winter seasons. Qualitative and quantitative determination of PAHs in soil samples was performed using high performance liquid chromatography with UV detection (HPLC-UV). The sum of selected PAHs (Sigma(7)PAHs) in soils of polluted sites ranged from 956 mu g kg(-1) to 2348 mu g kg(-1) (average 1714 mu g kg(-1)) in pre-winter season and 1230 mu g kg(-1) to 2714 mu g kg(-1) (average 1909 mu g kg(-1)) in post-winter season. The PAHs content in the post-winter samples was higher than the pre-winter samples. Organic carbon content does not show significant correlation with Sigma(7)PAHs. Sites with high potential environmental risk were identified using hierarchical cluster analysis. (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier B.V.