Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, nickel and vanadium in air particulate matter in Bahrain during the burning of oil fields in Kuwait.

Inhalable air particulate matter (APM) was collected in Bahrain from July 31, 1991 to August 4, 1991, during the burning of the oil fields in Kuwait. The filters collected were black and the levels of APM ranged from 139 to 673 micrograms m-3 with an average value of 199 micrograms m-3. APM were analysed for their contents of PAHs, Ni and V. Analysis was carried out for 32 PAHs and total PAHs ranged from 3.1 to 9.1 ng m-3 and averaged 5.3 ng m-3. The highest individual PAH levels were benzo[ghi]perylene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[a]pyrene and indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene. The concentration of Ni and V ranged from 7 to 42 and 11 to 42 ng m-3, with an average value of 22 and 26 ng m-3, respectively. A strong correlation was found between Ni and V (r = 0.98, P less than 0.01). The results show that the smoke from burning oil wells in Kuwait has contributed to the concentrations of particulate matter, PAHs, Ni and V in APM in Bahrain.