Abstract
Farmed mussels have been collected on a monthly basis since 1999 from a remote site on the west coast of Scotland for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) analysis with the aim of establishing background concentrations as a benchmark against which to assess any environmental incident. Total PAH (2- to 6-ring parent and alkylated) concentrations ranged from 12.5 to 151.2 μg kg−1 wet weight. Seasonal trends were evident with concentrations being significantly higher for samples collected between November and March compared to those collected between April and October. By taking the median of medians for each of these time periods two background concentrations are suggested for the total PAH concentrations (2- to 6-ring PAHs parent and alkylated); for April to October: 31.2 μg kg−1 wet weight and for November to March: 62.9 μg kg−1 wet weight. Individual PAH concentrations were mainly below the OSPAR Background Assessment Concentrations (BACs), where they are specified, and were only exceeded for the heavier 4- and 5-ring PAHs (fluoranthene, pyrene, benz[a]anthracene and benzo[a]pyrene) in samples collected between November and March. Differences were also seen in the PAH profiles with season. Mussels collected between November and March had a higher proportion of the heavier PAHs compared to mussels collected in the summer and autumn.
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