Distribution of the Soil PAHs and Health Risk Influenced by Coal Usage Processes in Taiyuan City, Northern China

The quality of urban soil is closely related to the safety of public places and the guarantee of food quality. This study investigated the level, distribution, source, and carcinogenic risk of 16 U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in urban, agricultural, and montane soil in Taiyuan. The ∑16PAHs level varied from 104.78 to 6594.63 ng g(−1) with a mean of 922.93 ng g(−1), and 47.73% of the soil samples were severely contaminated, with a concentration higher than 600 ng g(−1). PAHs with higher molecular weight (≥4 rings) were dominant in PAHs profiles accounting for 80.92%. In the spatial distribution of PAHs, hotspots of ∑16 PAHs were observed near the industries, indicating pollutants emitted by the industries directly affect the surrounding soil quality. The sources identified by positive matrix factorization (PMF) indicated: coal combustion (40.77%), vehicle exhausts (32.94%), biomass combustion (14.89%), and coking source (11.40%). Coal-related sources (coal and coking sources) were the major contributors (52.17%) to PAHs and carcinogenic risk (46.48%) assessed by BaP toxic equivalent concentration in total soils. Therefore, the extensive usage of coal was the leading factor for PAH pollution and health risk in Taiyuan soil.