Chemical characterization and health risk assessment of VOCs and PM2.5-bound PAHs emitted from typical Chinese residential cooking

Cooking is a major source of indoor air pollution. Existing studies suggest that organic material is the most abundant component by mass in cooking emissions, while the detailed organic species that result from cooking remains poorly understood. This work provides a comprehensive foundational knowledge of emission arising from typical Chinese residential cooking based on a field-work measurement of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and the routinely measured fine particulate matter (PM2.5) composition. Exposure to the Chinese cooking procedures will likely pose a significant health risk, with grilling producing the highest PM2.5 concentration (28.79 ± 9.36 mg m−3) and the most distinctive composition among the cooking patterns. The PAHs with 3 rings dominated the total PAHs by mass (48.08%), with the major organic species Phenanthrene (Phe), Anthracene (Ant), Benzo [a] pyrene (BaP), and Fluorene (Flu), accounting for 0.0399–0.5966, 0.0091–0.6710, 0.0046–0.4531, and 0.0086–0.3102 ng per μg of PM2.5, respectively. Oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs) accounted for 37.98% of the total VOCs. The ratios of Fla/(Fla + Pyr) and IcdP/(IcdP + BghiP) helped in distinguishing residential cooking emissions from other sources. The incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) values of PAHs and VOCs were 6.9 × 10−6–1.8 × 10−5 and 2.7 × 10−6–1.8 × 10−3, respectively, which were substantially higher than the acceptable levels (1.0 × 10−6) established by the U.S. EPA. The considerable health risks posed by Chinese cooking emissions necessitate additional study and control measures to lessen indoor air pollution and protect human health.