ABSTRACTS

by Daniel Said Pullicino
Supervisor: Prof. Alfred J. Vella Ph.D. (Col. Sch Mines)
Data of submission: June 1999

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science in part fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science (Hons) under the auspices of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Malta.

Abstract:
The presence of benzo[a]pyrene and benzo[k]fluoranthene in various phases of the environment in clean and more polluted urban sites around Malta was determined in order to give an indication of the hazards people inhabiting urban sites are exposed to benzo[a]pyrene and benzo[k]fluoranthene, formed during the combustion of organic materials, may be taken as indicators of the exposure to PAHs.

Benzo[a]pyrene and benzo[k]fluoranthene pollution was determined in airborne particulate matter, street dust and cistern water. The method of analysis utilized involved the extraction of the PAHs from an environmental sample, separation of BaP and BkF from the other organic constituents using liquid column chromatography and determination of the concentrations using fluorescence emission.