The health risk assessment was conducted using the toxic equivalent factor (TEF) that was obtained by comparing the toxicity of individual PAHs to BaP. Derma contact was the main routes of exposure in the studied area. The incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) model was used to find the risk level for human. The ILCR was higher than 10-3 , indicating high health risk to community. The incense burning activity increases the risk to exposure human. | Vietnam Journal of Science and Technology 55 (4C) (2017) 33-37 OCCURRENCE OF PAHs IN THE ATMOSPHERE AND INCENSE BURNING AREA IN HA NOI ASSOCIATED WITH HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT Van Dieu Anh, Ly Bich Thuy*, Vo Thi Le Ha, Vu Duc Duy, Hoang Van Manh School of Environmental Science and Technology, Ha Noi University of Science and Technology, 1 Dai Co Viet, Ha Noi, Viet Nam Email: lybichthuy@ Received: 1 August; Accepted for publication: 17 October 2017 ABSTRACT The presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon compounds (PAHs) was investigated through the particulate matter of samples air samples collected in the ambient air and the incense burning area in Ha Noi. The concentration of PAHs in the incense burning area was higher than that in the ambient air. The mixture of PAHs in both sites was predominantly composed of PAHs 4 and more than 4 aromatic rings. Benzo(a)pyrene, (BaP), regarded one of the most toxic PAHs, was found in all samples, with the concentrations higher than the maximum concentrations defined by several EU Countries. The health risk assessment was conducted using the toxic equivalent factor (TEF) that was obtained by comparing the toxicity of individual PAHs to BaP. Derma contact was the main routes of exposure in the studied area. The incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) model was used to find the risk level for human. The ILCR was higher than 10-3, indicating high health risk to community. The incense burning activity increases the risk to exposure human. Keywords: PAHs, incense burning, health risk, Ha Noi. 1. INTRODUCTION PAHs containing at least two fused aromatic rings have been found to be widely distributed in the atmosphere. PAHs are produced from incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and organic materials. Burning incense in the home and temples is an important religious ritual in oriental society. Incense typically smolder and combusts incompletely, producing incense smoke that contains particulate embedded PAHs [1, 2]. Ha Noi, in
