The concentrations of the sixteen United States Environmental Protection Agency polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in dusts from different land-use types in Benin City by means of gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The results obtained were used to assess the ecological and human health risk and to determine the source apportionment. The Ʃ16 PAH concentrations in dusts from Benin City ranged from 230 to 2300 µg kg⁻¹ for industrial areas, 211–1330 µg kg⁻¹ for commercial areas, 153–1170 µg kg⁻¹ for residential areas, and from 216 to 1970 µg kg⁻¹ for school playgrounds/parks. The ecological risk assessment suggested that the levels of PAHs in dusts from these land-use types are of low-to-moderate risk to organisms. The benzo(a)pyrene carcinogenic potency [BaP_TEQ] (70.5–131 µg kg⁻¹) and benzo(a)pyrene mutagenic potency [BaP_MEQ] (62.9–122 µg kg⁻¹) concentrations were below the Canadian soil quality guideline value of 600 µg kg⁻¹. The incremental lifetime carcinogenic risk (ILCR) arising from exposure of adults and children to PAHs in dusts from Benin City were in the magnitude of 10^–4–10^–2, which exceeded the safe target levels of 10^–6, implying a considerable cancer risk for residents of this city. The PAH source apportionment derived from isomeric ratios and multivariate statistics indicated that burning of biomass, wood, and charcoal, and vehicular traffic were the predominant sources of PAHs in dusts from Benin City.

通过气相色谱-质谱法测定了贝宁市不同土地利用类型的粉尘中 16 种美国环境保护署多环芳烃 (PAH) 的浓度。获得的结果用于评估生态和人类健康风险并确定来源分配。在贝宁城粉尘的Σ16PAH浓度范围为230至2300微克公斤^-1为工业区，211-1330微克公斤^-1用于商业领域，153-1170微克公斤^-1居住区，并从216至1970微克公斤^-1用于学校操场/公园。生态风险评估表明，这些土地利用类型的粉尘中多环芳烃的水平对生物体具有低至中度风险。苯并(a)芘致癌性 [BaP _TEQ ] (70.5–131 µg kg ^-1 ) 和苯并(a)芘致突变性 [BaP _MEQ ] (62.9–122 µg kg ^-1 ) 浓度低于加拿大土壤质量指南600 µg kg ^{-1 的}值。成人和儿童暴露于贝宁市粉尘中多环芳烃导致的终生致癌风险（ILCR）为 10 ^–4 –10 ^{–2 级}，超过了 10 ^–6的安全目标水平，意味着这个城市的居民有相当大的癌症风险。来自异构体比率和多变量统计数据的 PAH 来源分配表明，生物质、木材和木炭的燃烧以及车辆交通是贝宁市粉尘中 PAH 的主要来源。