Abstract
Analysis of the 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) of the US Environmental Protection Agency priority pollutant list was carried out in sediment samples of an industrial port in the southern Kaohsiung Harbor of Taiwan which is supposed to be extensively polluted by industrial wastewater discharges. The determination and quantification of PAHs in sediment samples were performed using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with the aid of deuterated PAH internal standards and surrogate standards. The total concentrations of the 16 PAHs varied from 4,425 to 51,261 ng/g dw, with a mean concentration of 13,196 ng/g dw. The PAHs concentration is relatively high in the river mouth region, and gradually diminishes toward the harbor region. Diagnostic ratios showed that the possible source of PAHs in the industrial port area could be coal combustion. As compared with the US Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQGs), the various observed levels of PAHs exceeded the effects range median (ERM), and could thus cause acute biological damages. The results can be used for regular monitoring, and future pollution prevention and management should target the various industries in this region for reducing pollution.
Highlights
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are included in the European Union and USEnvironmental Protection Agency priority pollutant lists because PAHs represent the largest group of compounds that are mutagenic, carcinogenic, and teratogenic [1,2]
14.1%), the procedural blank values were always less than the detection limit, the recoveries of individual PAHs in check standards ranged from 87 ± 6% to 128 ± 4% (n = 3) and the relative percent differences of sample duplicates ranged from 7.0 ± 6.0% to 13.3 ± 3.6% (n = 3) for all of the target analyses (Table 2)
Concentration distributions of ΣPAHs in industrial port area sediment shown in Figure 3 reveal that the sediment PAHs content is relatively higher near the Salt River mouth, and gradually decreases in the direction toward the harbor. This indicates that the major sources of sediment PAHs came from the polluted urban rivers
Summary
Environmental Protection Agency priority pollutant lists because PAHs represent the largest group of compounds that are mutagenic, carcinogenic, and teratogenic [1,2]. They could pose potential threats to the marine environment. Most PAHs have high hydrophobicity, and can be sorbed strongly by waterborne organic and inorganic particles. They may eventually be brought down to the bottom sediment as a sink in the aquatic system; the PAHs found in the sediments are resistant to bacterial degradation in an anoxic environment. Understanding the distribution, composition, and potential biological impacts is essential and important for appropriately managing PAHs levels in the environment
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