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Sources, properties and health risks of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Pankaj Vikas, Renu Sharmaa,Vaneet Kumar and Saruchi

In the present review article focus on highlighting the sources, properties and health risks of carcinogenic PAHs both on human health and environment. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) comprises a broad family of compounds that are also described as semi volatile organic compounds (SVOC). This term refers to the fact that PAHs are distributed between gas and particle phases. In fast budding cities of India, limited research work has been done on air contamination and distribution behaviour of PAHs, where vehicles (cars, trucks, buses and two wheeler) as old as one to twenty years run on the same roads. The trouble is further multiplied due to lack of maintenance, poor planning, socio economic condition and slow pace of infrastructure development. In the city atmosphere smaller vehicles (two, three and four wheelers) running mainly on petrol and diesel fuels are foremost contributor of PAHs. Due to increase in urbanization, industrial development, increase in population and vehicular traffic over the past decades the demand of fossil fuels has increased resulting in the rise of emission of PAHs to the atmosphere. PAHs are omnipresent including soil, water and air. They are generally stuck to the solid sediments. PAHs existence in the atmosphere results in troubles because consuming products obtained from sources like processed petroleum products and agricultural produce could be ruinous as it causes tumours in animals and cancers in human beings