Characterization and health risk assessment of airborne pollutants in commercial restaurants in northwestern China: Under a low ventilation condition in wintertime

Impacts on indoor air quality of dining areas from cooking activities were investigated in eight categories of commercial restaurants including Szechwan Hotpot, Hunan, Shaanxi Noodle, Chinese Barbecue, Chinese Vegetarian, Korean Barbecue, Italian, and Indian, in Northwestern China during December 2011 to January 2012. Chemical characterization and health risk assessment for airborne carbonyls, and particulate-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals were conducted under low ventilation conditions in wintertime. The highest total quantified carbonyls (Σ_carbonyls) concentration of 313.6 μg m⁻³ was found in the Chinese Barbecue, followed by the Szechwan Hotpot (222.6 μg m⁻³) and Indian (221.9 μg m⁻³) restaurants. However, the highest Σ_carbonyls per capita was found at the Indian restaurant (4500 μg capita⁻¹), suggesting that cooking methods such as stir-fly and bake for spices ingredients released more carbonyls from thermal cooking processes. Formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acetone were the three most abundant species, totally accounting for >60% of mass concentrations of the Σ_carbonyls. Phenanthrene, chrysene, and benzo[a]anthracene were the three most abundant PAHs. Low molecular weight fraction (ΣPAHs_≤178) had the highest contributions accounting for 40.6%–65.7%, much greater than their heaver counterparts. Diagnostic PAHs ratios suggest that cooking fuel and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) contribute to the indoor PAHs profiles. Lead was the most abundant heavy metal in all sampled restaurants. High quantity of nickel was also found in samples due to the emissions from stainless-steel made kitchen utensils and cookware and ETS. Cancer risk assessments on the toxic substances demonstrate that the working environment of dining areas were hazard to health. Formation of reactive organic species (ROS) from the cooking activities was evidenced by measurement of hydroxyl radical ([rad]OH) formed from simulating particulate matter (PM) react with surrogate lung fluid. The highest [rad]OH concentration of 294.4 ng m⁻³ was detected in Chinese Barbecue. In addition, the elevation of the concentrations of PM and [rad]OH after non-dining periods implies that the significance of formation of oxidizing-active species indoor at poor ventilation environments.