The review presents relevant data on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs): physical and chemical characteristics,
sources of release into the environment, impact on human health, sanitary and hygienic regulation, methods of sample
preparation and detection. PAHs are found everywhere in nature: in geological sediments, soil, air, water, snow, plant
and animal tissues. Many of the PAHs exhibit carcinogenic, mutagenic, and teratogenic activity. The content of PAHs,
as a class of organic pollutants with a complex mechanism of action, should be mainly controlled during environmental
monitoring. All measures to reduce the level of environmental pollution in Russia are based on control over the content
of harmful substances, which is regulated by sanitary and hygienic standards.
The wide distribution of PAHs in trace concentrations and their ability to accumulate in various objects necessitates
the development of effective methods for their control. Special attention in the review is paid to modern spectroscopic
methods for the determination of PAHs in environmental objects: spectrophotometry, low-temperature Shpol’skii luminescence, molecular fluorescence analysis, micellar-stabilized and solid-phase luminescence, phosphorescence at room
temperature, and fluorescence resonance energy transfer. A comparative analysis of the methods allows us to conclude
that the sensitivity of the methods of molecular luminescence analysis, as a rule, exceeds the methods of spectrophotometry. The main limitations of the methods of molecular luminescence analysis are associated with insufficiently high
versatility and selectivity.
Further studies to improve spectroscopic control methods aimed at eliminating interfering influences and improving
the selectivity and sensitivity of methods for analyzing multicomponent PAH mixtures in environmental monitoring
are promising.
Keywords: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), sources of PAHs, effect on human health, spectroscopic methods, absorption, luminescence
Article published in number 4 for 2021 DOI: 10.25750/1995-4301-2021-4-012-019
ISSN 1995-4301
Select viewing options
