Förorenad mark till följd av byggnadsbränder - Spridning av PAH i jorden efter byggnadsbrand i Alnarp

Sammanfattning: Pollutant emissions to the environment caused by human activity is a worldwide problem. This can occur due to residential fires which are often connected to loss of human lifes and belongings, as well as environmental damage. Residential fires canlead to emissions of pollutants that can be released to the air, water and soil. In this study, the level of soil contamination caused by residential fires was analyzed. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) is one pollutant group that is formed from incomplete combustion and is therefore expected to be found in the soil after a fire. There are hundreds of different individual PAHs and a number of 16 are listed in the EPA priority pollutant list and some of them are assessed as cancerogenic. The two main sources of the pollutants in the environment today are from traffic and wood burning. In this study, a field study was performed and samples were collected on an estate where a residential fire had taken place. The soil samples were analyzed and the result showed significantly higher PAH concentrations in some of the samples. The sources of measured PAHs were evaluated using a method looking at diagnostic ratios between different pairs of PAHs. The method can be used as PAHs with similar characteristics are expected to act in a certain way in the environment as well as the composition of different PAHs in the sample can help to identify the source of the pollutants. The result shows that most of the PAHs in the soil originate from a variation of burnt material that can be connected to the building fire. Studies have shown a variation in background levels for PAHs in the environment which complicates the comparison with this study´s results. Although it is shown from this study that more consideration is required after a residential fire has taken place.