Comprehensive Health Risk Assessment of PM2.5 Chemical Composition in an Urban Megacity: A Case Study from Greater Cairo Area
2025
Eliane Farah | Marc Fadel | Hassan R. Dhaini | Nansi Fakhri | Minas Iakovides | Salwa K. Hassan | Mohamed Boraiy | Mostafa El-Nazer | Ali Wheida | Magdy Abdelwahab | Stéphane Sauvage | Agnès Borbon | Jean Sciare | Frédéric Ledoux | Charbel Afif | Dominique Courcot
While many studies on the health effects of PM2.5 exist, the risks of PM2.5 species remain largely unexplored in Middle Eastern and North African countries. This study assesses, for the first time, the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks for elements, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phthalates, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) bound to PM2.5 in the Greater Cairo Area. A total of 59 samples were collected from an urban site in Dokki (November 2019&ndash:January 2020). Chemical analysis showed higher concentrations of PCDFs (5418 fg/m3) than PCDDs (1469 fg/m3), with DL-PCBs being the most abundant (6577 fg/m3). Health risk assessment for inhalation showed non-carcinogenic risks for all age groups, especially for newborns. Manganese (Mn) and lead (Pb) posed the highest elemental non-carcinogenic risk, while the hazard quotient (HQ) for PAHs exceeded 1 across all ages. PCDDs, PCDFs, and DL-PCBs showed an estimated cancer risk reaching 10&minus:6 in adults, indicating a significant health concern. Key contributors to cancer risk included arsenic (As), chromium (Cr(VI)), and vanadium (V), which accounted for over 80% of the total elemental cancer risk. Major and trace elements posed the highest lifetime cancer risk, nearly 37 times the acceptable level.
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