The occurrence and sources of PAHs, oxygenated PAHs (OPAHs), and nitrated PAHs (NPAHs) in soil and vegetation from the Antarctic, Arctic, and Tibetan Plateau

Although the fate of PAHs in the three polar regions (Antarctic, Arctic, and Tibetan Plateau) has been investigated, the occurrence and contamination profiles of PAH derivatives such as oxygenated PAHs (OPAHs) and nitrated PAHs (NPAHs) remain unclear. Some of them are more toxic and can be transformed from PAHs in environment. This study explored and compared the concentrations composition profiles and potential sources of PAHs, OPAHs, and NPAHs in soil and vegetation samples from the three polar regions. The total PAH, OPAH, and NPAH concentrations were 3.55–519, n.d.–101, and n.d.–1.10 ng/g dry weight (dw), respectively. The compounds were dominated by three-ring PAHs, and the most abundant individual PAH and OPAH were phenanthrene (PHE) and 9-fluorenone (9-FO), respectively. The sources of PAHs and their derivatives were qualitatively analyzed by the diagnostic ratios and quantified using the positive matrix factorization (PMF) model. The ratios of PAH derivatives to parent PAHs (9-FO/fluorene and 9,10-anthraquinone/anthracene) were significantly higher in the Antarctic samples than in the Arctic and TP samples, implying a higher occurrence of secondary OPAH and NPAH formation in the Antarctic region. To our knowledge, this is the first comparative study that simultaneously investigated the contamination profiles of PAHs and their derivatives in the three polar regions. The findings of this study provide a scientific basis for the development of risk assessment and pollution control strategies in these fragile regions.