Abstract
Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of organic pollutants found commonly in aquatic systems around the world. They are composed of multiple aromatic rings fused together, Naphthalene being the lowest member. In this paper, we review all available data on the occurrence and trends of PAHs in aquatic environment. PAHs are fairly soluble in water, so they tend to sorb onto particulate matter and are readily deposited in sediments, therefore their occurrence in the aquatic environment has caused widespread concern. Several PAHs were found to be directly carcinogenic to mammals even in trace amounts. Both pyrogenic and petrogenic processes produce PAHs. The Pyrogenic PAHs result from the incomplete combustion of organic matter such as grass, coal, wood, natural gas, and petroleum, whereas petrogenic PAHs are derived from crude oil and its derivatives including lubricating oil, asphalt, gasoline, diesel etc. This paper is a review of source, fate, transport, and degradation of PAHs in aquatic environments, and also discusses toxicity, analytical methods and comparison of PAHs in different aquatic systems.
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