Characterization of persistent organic contaminants in the atmosphere of Gadani's ship breaking yards and its surrounding: Implications for sustainable ship recycling practices
Gadani is internationally renowned for its extensive ship-breaking operations, positioning it as one of the globe's primary ship-breaking hubs. A comprehensive study was conducted to evaluate the presence of organic contaminants in the air within Gadani, encompassing the areas surrounding ship-...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2024-03-01
|
| Series: | Environment International |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016041202400117X |
| _version_ | 1827311192928944128 |
|---|---|
| author | Abdul Shakoor Khan Said Akbar Khan Asim Abbasi Dina Hajjar Arwa A. Makki Hanan Almahasheer Ali R.A. Moursy Raimundo Jiménez-Ballesta |
| author_facet | Abdul Shakoor Khan Said Akbar Khan Asim Abbasi Dina Hajjar Arwa A. Makki Hanan Almahasheer Ali R.A. Moursy Raimundo Jiménez-Ballesta |
| author_sort | Abdul Shakoor Khan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Gadani is internationally renowned for its extensive ship-breaking operations, positioning it as one of the globe's primary ship-breaking hubs. A comprehensive study was conducted to evaluate the presence of organic contaminants in the air within Gadani, encompassing the areas surrounding ship-breaking facilities, proximate residential settlements, and adjacent roadways. Passive air samplers were employed to collect a total of 30 air samples. The analytical results unveiled a notably elevated concentration of specific organic compounds, with a pronounced prevalence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at the ship-breaking yard. Notably, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs) and DDE were detected at substantially lower levels. In particular, sites in close proximity to ship-breaking activities exhibited elevated concentrations of PCBs (Σ7PCB 0.065429 to 7.345714 ng/sample), PAHs (Σ8PAH 2.44 to 134.23 ng/sample), and SCCPs (0.18 to 25.6 ng/sample). Conversely, DDTs and DDE demonstrated higher concentrations near residential settlements. The evaluation of Molecular Diagnostic Ratios for PAHs revealed anthracene/anthracene + phenanthrene ratios of 0.88, 0.69, and 0.5 for ship-breaking areas, roadside locations, and community surroundings, respectively. Furthermore, the benz[a]anthracene/benz-[a]anthracene + chrysene molecular ratios were measured at 0.77 (ship-breaking sites), 0.82 (roadside), and 0.83 (community), respectively. The molecular ratio of fluoranthene/fluoranthene + pyrene at ship-breaking sites was 0.23, while roadside and community ratios were 0.36 and 0.89, respectively. These findings underscore the significant contribution of ship-recycling activities to the atmospheric release of SCCPs, PCBs, and PAHs, emphasizing the global imperative for responsible ship recycling practices. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T18:37:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-34fc640783a3480688f0f66e701ef6a5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0160-4120 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T20:14:00Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environment International |
| spelling | doaj.art-34fc640783a3480688f0f66e701ef6a52024-03-23T06:22:15ZengElsevierEnvironment International0160-41202024-03-01185108531Characterization of persistent organic contaminants in the atmosphere of Gadani's ship breaking yards and its surrounding: Implications for sustainable ship recycling practicesAbdul Shakoor Khan0Said Akbar Khan1Asim Abbasi2Dina Hajjar3Arwa A. Makki4Hanan Almahasheer5Ali R.A. Moursy6Raimundo Jiménez-Ballesta7Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Bahria University Islamabad, PakistanDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Bahria University Islamabad, PakistanDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Kohsar University Murree, Murree 47150, Pakistan; Corresponding authors.University of Jeddah, College of Science, Department of Biochemistry, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaUniversity of Jeddah, College of Science, Department of Biochemistry, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Biology, College of Science, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University (IAU), Dammam 31441-1982, Saudi ArabiaSoil and Water Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Sohag University, Sohag 82524, EgyptDepartment of Geology & Geochemistry, Autonoma University of Madrid, Madrid 28049, Spain; Corresponding authors.Gadani is internationally renowned for its extensive ship-breaking operations, positioning it as one of the globe's primary ship-breaking hubs. A comprehensive study was conducted to evaluate the presence of organic contaminants in the air within Gadani, encompassing the areas surrounding ship-breaking facilities, proximate residential settlements, and adjacent roadways. Passive air samplers were employed to collect a total of 30 air samples. The analytical results unveiled a notably elevated concentration of specific organic compounds, with a pronounced prevalence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at the ship-breaking yard. Notably, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs) and DDE were detected at substantially lower levels. In particular, sites in close proximity to ship-breaking activities exhibited elevated concentrations of PCBs (Σ7PCB 0.065429 to 7.345714 ng/sample), PAHs (Σ8PAH 2.44 to 134.23 ng/sample), and SCCPs (0.18 to 25.6 ng/sample). Conversely, DDTs and DDE demonstrated higher concentrations near residential settlements. The evaluation of Molecular Diagnostic Ratios for PAHs revealed anthracene/anthracene + phenanthrene ratios of 0.88, 0.69, and 0.5 for ship-breaking areas, roadside locations, and community surroundings, respectively. Furthermore, the benz[a]anthracene/benz-[a]anthracene + chrysene molecular ratios were measured at 0.77 (ship-breaking sites), 0.82 (roadside), and 0.83 (community), respectively. The molecular ratio of fluoranthene/fluoranthene + pyrene at ship-breaking sites was 0.23, while roadside and community ratios were 0.36 and 0.89, respectively. These findings underscore the significant contribution of ship-recycling activities to the atmospheric release of SCCPs, PCBs, and PAHs, emphasizing the global imperative for responsible ship recycling practices.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016041202400117XOrganic pollutantsShipbreakingSettlementsPCBsSCCPsPAHs |
| spellingShingle | Abdul Shakoor Khan Said Akbar Khan Asim Abbasi Dina Hajjar Arwa A. Makki Hanan Almahasheer Ali R.A. Moursy Raimundo Jiménez-Ballesta Characterization of persistent organic contaminants in the atmosphere of Gadani's ship breaking yards and its surrounding: Implications for sustainable ship recycling practices Environment International Organic pollutants Shipbreaking Settlements PCBs SCCPs PAHs |
| title | Characterization of persistent organic contaminants in the atmosphere of Gadani's ship breaking yards and its surrounding: Implications for sustainable ship recycling practices |
| title_full | Characterization of persistent organic contaminants in the atmosphere of Gadani's ship breaking yards and its surrounding: Implications for sustainable ship recycling practices |
| title_fullStr | Characterization of persistent organic contaminants in the atmosphere of Gadani's ship breaking yards and its surrounding: Implications for sustainable ship recycling practices |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characterization of persistent organic contaminants in the atmosphere of Gadani's ship breaking yards and its surrounding: Implications for sustainable ship recycling practices |
| title_short | Characterization of persistent organic contaminants in the atmosphere of Gadani's ship breaking yards and its surrounding: Implications for sustainable ship recycling practices |
| title_sort | characterization of persistent organic contaminants in the atmosphere of gadani s ship breaking yards and its surrounding implications for sustainable ship recycling practices |
| topic | Organic pollutants Shipbreaking Settlements PCBs SCCPs PAHs |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016041202400117X |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT abdulshakoorkhan characterizationofpersistentorganiccontaminantsintheatmosphereofgadanisshipbreakingyardsanditssurroundingimplicationsforsustainableshiprecyclingpractices AT saidakbarkhan characterizationofpersistentorganiccontaminantsintheatmosphereofgadanisshipbreakingyardsanditssurroundingimplicationsforsustainableshiprecyclingpractices AT asimabbasi characterizationofpersistentorganiccontaminantsintheatmosphereofgadanisshipbreakingyardsanditssurroundingimplicationsforsustainableshiprecyclingpractices AT dinahajjar characterizationofpersistentorganiccontaminantsintheatmosphereofgadanisshipbreakingyardsanditssurroundingimplicationsforsustainableshiprecyclingpractices AT arwaamakki characterizationofpersistentorganiccontaminantsintheatmosphereofgadanisshipbreakingyardsanditssurroundingimplicationsforsustainableshiprecyclingpractices AT hananalmahasheer characterizationofpersistentorganiccontaminantsintheatmosphereofgadanisshipbreakingyardsanditssurroundingimplicationsforsustainableshiprecyclingpractices AT aliramoursy characterizationofpersistentorganiccontaminantsintheatmosphereofgadanisshipbreakingyardsanditssurroundingimplicationsforsustainableshiprecyclingpractices AT raimundojimenezballesta characterizationofpersistentorganiccontaminantsintheatmosphereofgadanisshipbreakingyardsanditssurroundingimplicationsforsustainableshiprecyclingpractices |