Abstract
To improve the understanding of the emission sources and pathways of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the coastal environments of remote areas, their particulate and dissolved concentrations were analyzed on a monthly basis from 2015 to 2018 in surface waters of Nanao Bay, Japan. The concentration of the targeted 13 species of PAHs on the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) priority pollutant list in dissolved and particle phases were separately analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to a fluorescence detector. Particulate and dissolved PAHs had average concentrations of 0.72 ng∙L−1 and 0.95 ng∙L−1, respectively. While most of the samples were lower than 1 ng∙L−1, abnormally high levels up to 10 ng∙L−1 were observed in the winter of 2017–2018 for particulate PAHs. Based on the isomer ratios of Flu to Flu plus Pyr, it was possible to determine that the pyrogenic loads were greater than the petrogenic loads in all but four out of 86 samples. The predominant environmental pathway for PAHs in winter was determined to be long-range atmospheric transportation fed by the East Asian winter monsoon, while for the summer, local sources were more relevant. By the risk quotients method, it was determined that PAHs in surface seawater presented a very low risk to marine life during the interannual survey.
Highlights
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a family of pollutants formed by the imperfect combustion of fossil fuels and organic matter such as wood and grass; they can naturally occur in petroleum derivates [1]
The concentrations of dissolved polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and particulate PAHs in the interannual PAH survey are shown in Figures 2 and 3
From 2015 to 2018, particulate and dissolved PAH average concentrations and their relative compositions were analyzed with an interannual monitoring survey performed in surface waters of
Summary
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a family of pollutants formed by the imperfect combustion of fossil fuels and organic matter such as wood and grass; they can naturally occur in petroleum derivates [1]. Because of their environmental hazards and health risks to humans and marine life [2,3,4,5,6], the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has listed them as priority pollutants [7,8]. Public Health 2020, 17, 904; doi:10.3390/ijerph17030904 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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