Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) refer to hydrocarbons with two or more benzene rings in their molecules. They are important environmental and food pollutants. Among the 94 compounds listed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 1976 that have carcinogenic effects on experimental animals, 15 belong to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which can cause skin cancer, stomach cancer, and lung cancer. The relationship between skin cancer and PAH has been firmly established to this day. The content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the natural environment is extremely low, mainly derived from the non combustion of coal, petroleum, wood, and organic polymer compounds.

The Chinese Environmental Protection Standard HJ805-206 specifies the method for determining polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil and sediment, which is applicable to the determination of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil and sediment. This article uses PerkinElmer Clarus SQ8GC/MS to determine polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil. This system meets the performance indicators set by HJ805-206 method. The linearity, reproducibility, recovery rate, and detection limit of the target compound shown in the article are all good, indicating that the instrument configuration has excellent detection performance and can meet the requirements of the method.