EN
Four separate analytical procedures were applied to determine polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH's) and their oxygen and nitrogen derivatives including carbazoles, nitrocompounds and aza compounds. The basic method applied in all four procedures was chromatography, utilized in different variations aimed at obtaining PAH concentrates and their derivatives, before identification analysis. Capillary gas chromatography and the GC-MS system were applied in the identification of individual compounds and in quantity determinations. In the airborne particulate matter in Upper Silesia — the Polish region considered to be the most ecologically degraded — the following compounds have been determined among many others: several PAH's; oxygen derivatives such as 9-fluorenone, anthraquinone, benzanthrone, 1-nitropyrene and/or 2-nitrofluoranthene; carbazole; quinoline; and benzoquinoline. Except for PAH, the enumerated compounds have so far not been determined in environmental samples all over the country.