resources Article Quantitative Assessment of Organic and Inorganic Contaminants in Charcoal Zbigniew Jelonek * , Monika Fabia ´ nska and Iwona Jelonek   Citation: Jelonek, Z.; Fabia ´ nska, M.; Jelonek, I. Quantitative Assessment of Organic and Inorganic Contaminants in Charcoal. Resources 2021, 10, 69. https://doi.org/10.3390/ resources10070069 Academic Editor: Elena Rada Received: 20 May 2021 Accepted: 25 June 2021 Published: 1 July 2021 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). Faculty of Natural Sciences, Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, ul. B ˛ edzi ´ nska 60, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland; monika.fabianska@us.edu.pl (M.F.); iwona.jelonek@us.edu.pl (I.J.) * Correspondence: zjelonek@us.edu.pl Abstract: Thirty-one batches of commercial charcoal from various regions of Poland and Germany were tested for the presence of 20 toxic elements and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Elements that are toxic to living organisms were determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). They were classified as elements representing a very high degree of hazard (As, Cd, Cu, Hg, and Pb), high degree of hazard (Zn, Ba, Cr, Mn, and Mo), moderate degree of hazard (Co, Ni, Sn, and Te), and a low degree of hazard for living organisms and the environment (Ag, Bi, Ce, Se, Sr, and Zr). In regard to the most toxic elements, the highest concentration in the whole tested material was recorded for Cu. In addition, considerable amounts of Ba, Mn, and Sr, i.e., elements representing a high or moderate degree of hazard, were found in the tested charcoals. Moreover, all charcoals contained a wide range of PAHs, from naphthalene to benzo(ghi)perylene, with concentrations in a range between 12.55 and 3554.11 ng/g charcoal. In total, 25 unsubstituted PAHs were identified in the charcoal extracts. PAHs distributions were dominated by five-ring PAHs. The results indicate high carcinogenicity with ∑PAHcarc/∑PAHtot close to 1, as well as high TEQ and MEQ values. Thus, prolonged exposure to charcoal and charcoal dust might cause serious health problems. This applies to employees actively involved in the production and transport of charcoal and, to a lesser extent, users of this fuel. Keywords: charcoal; grilling fuel; toxic elements; PAHs; carcinogens; GC-MS 1. Introduction Charcoal has been used since at least 50,000 years B.C., which is confirmed by the study of wood tar used to attach stone points to spears. This indicates the first conscious attempts to produce charcoal using the backfill method, i.e., through a partial dry wood distillation process under the earth cover, limiting oxygen access. In this way, small amounts of tar, an excellent adhesive and preservative product, were obtained as a byproduct [1]. The use of high temperatures for meat processing resulted in a more digestible diet and more extended storage of processed food [2]. The demand for charcoal production increased in the Bronze and Iron Ages when it facilitated everyday metal object and weapon production. The addition of carbon to iron during the smelting of ore in charcoal-fired furnaces became the basis of modern civilization [3]. At the end of the nineteenth century, the industry gradually moved away from charcoal towards fossil fuels and petroleum components. The renaissance of charcoal as fuel in its original form occurred in the 1940s. Grill grates for meat hung over a fire on a semicircular bowl filled with fuel (charcoal) were quickly adopted worldwide [4]. Grilling has become a favorite form of food preparation during family gatherings and outdoor activities. In the 1980s, researchers focused on the quality and possible harmfulness of grilled food, e.g., carcinogenic substances in grilled meat [5–7]. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) primarily come from the thermal treatment of meat (fat and meat grilled directly over a heated surface) and gaseous emissions from charcoal combustion. Medical obser- vations confirmed that PAHs contribute to many civilization and occupational diseases Resources 2021, 10, 69. https://doi.org/10.3390/resources10070069 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/resources