Spatial variations of PAH, hopanes/steranes and EC/OC concentrations within and between European study areas Aleksandra Jedynska a, * , Gerard Hoek b , Marloes Eeftens b, q, r , Josef Cyrys c, d , Menno Keuken a , Christophe Ampe e , Rob Beelen b , Giulia Cesaroni f , Francesco Forastiere f , Marta Cirach g, h, i , Kees de Hoogh j , Audrey De Nazelle g, s , Christian Madsen k , Christophe Declercq l , Kirsten T. Eriksen m , Klea Katsouyanni n , Helgah Makarem Akhlaghi a , Timo Lanki o , Kees Meliefste a , Mark Nieuwenhuijsen g, h, i , Marieke Oldenwening b , Arto Pennanen o , Ole Raaschou-Nielsen m , Bert Brunekreef b, p , Ingeborg M. Kooter a a TNO, The Netherlands Applied Research Organization, Utrecht, The Netherlands b Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, The Netherlands c Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Munich, Germany d University of Augsburg, Environmental Science Center, Augsburg, Germany e AIRPARIF, Paris, France f Epidemiology Department, Lazio Regional Health Service, Rome, Italy g Center for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain h IMIM (Hospital del Mar Research Institute), Barcelona, Spain i CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Spain j MRC-HPA Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom k Division of Epidemiology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway l French Institute for Public Health Surveillance (InVS), Saint-Maurice Cedex, France m Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Copenhagen, Denmark n Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology & Medical Statistics, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece o Department of Environmental Health, National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Kuopio, Finland p Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands q Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland r University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland s Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, UK highlights  We used standardized method to measure EC, OC, PAH and hopanes/steranes in 10 European areas.  The highest contrast within study areas was for EC, the lowest for OC.  Concentrations of EC, OC but not PAH were higher in Southern than in Northern European areas.  Traffic impact to PAH levels differed substantially across study areas. article info Article history: Received 12 September 2013 Received in revised form 19 December 2013 abstract Limited information is available on the contribution of organic components in particulate matter to health effects related to fine particles. Spatial variability of specific fine particle organic components has not been assessed with consistent methods. The aim of this paper is to assess spatial variation of organic components of fine particles within and between European study areas. Highly standardized Abbreviations: ESCAPE, European Study of Cohort for Air Pollution Effects; TRANSPHORM, Transport related Air Pollution and Health impacts e Integrated Methodologies for Assessing Particulate Matter; EC/OC, elemental/organic carbon; PAH, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; B[a]P, benzo[a]pyrene; GIS, Geographic Information Systems; LUR, Land Use Regression; NO x , nitrogen oxides; NO 2 , nitrogen dioxide; PM 2.5 , mass concentration of particles less than 2.5 mm in size; PM 2.5 absorbance, measurement of the blackness of PM 2.5 filters this is a proxy for elemental carbon which is the dominant light absorbing substance; PM 10 , mass concentration of particles less than 10 mm in size; RB, regional background; S, Street; EPA, United States Environmental Protection Agency. * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ31 651 096 297; fax: þ31 88 866 20 42. E-mail address: Aleksandra.jedynska@tno.nl (A. Jedynska). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Atmospheric Environment journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/atmosenv 1352-2310/$ e see front matter Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2014.01.026 Atmospheric Environment 87 (2014) 239e248