Iranian Journal of

MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Background and Objective: Dioxins and Furans are dangerous and highly toxic compounds entering to the environment from natural and manmade sources. Having high stability and half-life, these compounds remain for a long period in the medium and bring about severe effects on human beings and the environment. The aim of this study was to identify dioxins and furans emission sources in Iran and to estimate their contribution in emission rate.
‌Materials and Methods: First, we identified the emission sources of dioxins and furans and then necessary data was gathered by referring to the authorized organizations and filling the prepared UNEP questionnaires. We used Excel software to analyze the data collected.
Results: According to the results obtained, total dioxins and furan emission in Iran in 2010, was 1957 g TEQ/yr out of this amount, 705.8 g TEQ is emitted to the atmosphere and 643.2 g TEQ is residual ash. Therefore, dioxins and furans emission rate was 26.4 µg TEQ/capita in Iran. The most rates of emissions were associated with uncontrolled open burning (732.8 g TEQ/yr) and ferrous and nonferrous metal production (635.7 g TEQ/yr) such as cupper, iron, and steel.
‌Conclusion: Our findings showed that the emission rate of Dioxins and Furans is much higher in Iran compared with other countries and appropriate management strategies are required to control these dangerous pollutants.

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Background and Objective: The present study was carried out to determine the amount and ionic characterization of TSP and PM₁₀ aimed at identifying  the potential emission sources of particulates in the ambient air of Tabriz.

Materials and Methods: TSP and PM₁₀ samples were collected by two high volume samplers during September 2013 to August 2014. Water-soluble ions in particulate matter were extracted using ultrasonic method and were identified by ion chromatography. Using Stata12 software, linear regression analysis was performed between the ions to determination of the major ionic component of the particulates. In addition, in order to identify the potential emission sources of PM₁₀, the rotation varimax model was used.

Results: Total measured water-soluble ions in TSP and PM₁₀ of the urban sampling site were 20.33±20.77 and 16.04±14.08 µg/m³, respectively. Among all detected ions, sulfate (8.69±5.79 µg/m³) and nitrate (8.47±7.9 µg/m³) were the dominant constituents followed by calcium and sodium.

Conclusion: The modeling results revealed that the soils of surrounding ground together with secondary PM and also resuspension of PM from polluted soil account for 80 percent of PM₁₀ mass.

Background and Objective: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of organic pollutants that are mostly generated during the incomplete combustion. The main objective of this study was to characterize potential sources of PAHs in Tehran.

Materials and Methods:, Samples of PM₁₀ were collected at 10 monitoring stations belonging to Tehran Air Quality Control Company (AQCC) and transferred to laboratory for analysis. Besides, a SKC Flite 2 Air Sampling Pump (SKC, USA) equipped with a sampling head and PM₁₀ size-selective inlet was used at four stations to compare the results obtained by collecting AQCC monitors (AQCCMs) tapes with the standard sampling procedures for assessing the interchangeability of two field sampling methods. The principal component analysis (PCA) and diagnostic ratios were applied to identify emission sources and source contribution.

Results: The average diagnostic ratios of phenanthrene (Phe)/ (Phe+anthracene (Ant)), benzo(a)anthracene (BaA)/ (BaA+chrysene (Chry)), fluorantene(Flu)/ (Flu+pyrene (Py)), and indeno(1,2,3cd) pyrene (IcP)/(IcP+benzo(ghi)perylene (BghiP)) in samples were 0.79, 0.52, 0.43 and 0.38, respectively. These ratios showed that the combustion, especially fossil fuels and motor vehicles, was the main sources of PAHs emission in Tehran. The results of  PCA analysis also indicated that 49, 29 and 22% of PAHs sources in Tehran atmosphere were attributed to gasoline-driven vehicles, diesel vehicles and other sources, respectively.

Conclusion: According to the results, the combustion, especially fossil fuel and motor vehicle, was the main sources of PAHs emission in Tehran.