Priority Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Composition Research Articles

Bioaccumulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Solea solea from Bizerte and Ghar El Melh Lagoons (Tunisia) and human health risk assessment

The present study objective was to assess polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Bizerte and Ghar El Melh Lagoons Solea solea and to assess the potential risk to human health from its consumption. To reach these objectives twenty fish samples from each site were collected and 15 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analyzed in their muscles using high-performance liquid chromatography with a fluorescence detector. Total PAH sole concentrations from Bizerte and Ghar El Melh Lagoons were similar or lower to those recorded in other species from other regions across the world. In the studied fish species, the 2 and 3 ring PAHs are the dominated compounds that enter to the composition of PAHs which indicates that PAHs could be principally derived from a petrogenic origin for the both studied lagoons. The human health risk by sole consumption was evaluated and revealed to exhibit no hazard to the local population health concerning PAH intakes. The findings of this biomonitoring study will help in the implementation of sustainable environmental policies for effective water pollution control and the two investigated lagoons management.

Pollution Characteristics, Dry Deposition Fluxes, and Sources for Atmospheric Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Bosten Lake Watershed

Passive air samplers (PAS-PUF) and passive dry deposition (PAS-DD) samplers were applied in the Bosten Lake watershed located in Xinjiang to estimate the atmospheric concentrations and dry deposition fluxes for 15 US EPA priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during a heating period in 2016 and no-heating period in 2017, respectively. The results showed that the atmospheric PAHs concentrations in the Bosten oasis area ranged from 6.38 ng·m-3 to 245.43 ng·m-3 during the heating period and 2.33 ng·m-3 to 74.76 ng·m-3 during the non-heating period. The highest atmospheric PAHs concentrations were found in the residential area, followed by regions near Bosten Lake and Tazhong. The atmospheric dry deposition fluxes of PAHs in the Bosten Lake watershed ranged from 0.45 μg·(m2·d)-1 to 18.10 μg·(m2·d)-1 during the heating period and 0.25 μg·(m2·d)-1to 8.15 μg·(m2·d)-1 during the non-heating period. During the heating period, the atmospheric dry deposition fluxes in the residential area were significantly higher than those in the regions near Bosten Lake and Tazhong. However, the atmospheric PAHs dry deposition flux in Tazhong was much higher than that in other sites during the heating and no-heating periods. In general, the atmospheric PAHs dry deposition fluxes during the heating period were significantly higher than those during the non-heating period. PAH composition for the atmosphere and dry deposition were dominated by 3 and 4 ring congeners, especially by phenanthrene, fluorine, fluoranthene, and pyrene during two sampling periods. In addition, the congener diagnostic ratio shows that coal and biomass combustion were possible sources of atmospheric PAHs in the Bosten Lake watershed. The forward and backward trajectory analysis based on the HYSPLIT model demonstrated that the higher atmospheric PAH emissions from the residential area would be transported to Bosten Lake, which can affect the aquatic environment of this lake by dry deposition.

Identifying the Pollution Characteristics of Atmospheric Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Associated with Functional Districts in Ningbo, China.

Duplicate polyurethane foam based passive air samplers (PUF-PAS) were deployed at seven sites in Ningbo from November 1, 2014 to October 31, 2015 and were used to analyze 15 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Higher benzo[a]pyrene toxic equivalent concentrations were observed in the industrial areas during wintertime. Correspondence analysis (CA) was used to characterize the PAH congener profiles associated with each functional district and their temporal variations. It showed that different PAH composition profiles and seasonal variations were observed in mountain, rural area and residential areas; and different industrial layouts also led to different properties of PAH congener emissions. Higher levels of PAHs were observed around oil refinery in summer and at mountainous areas in winter, which might be attributed to the evaporation of petroleum and the impact of local biomass burning. This study also demonstrated that the factors influencing the representativeness of a site could be more clearly understood using PUF-PAS and CA analysis.

Concentrations and health risk assessment of Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Soils of an urban environment in the Niger Delta, Nigeria

The concentrations and compositional patterns of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in surface soils of an urban environment in the Niger Delta of Nigeria with a view to providing information on the sources, extent of contamination and human health risks of PAHs in these soils. The analyses were performed by means of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) after extraction of the soils with hexane/dichloromethane and clean-up of the extracts. The concentration of Σ16 PAHs in the urban soils ranged from 188 to 684 µg kg−1, while the ΣPAH7c (carcinogenic PAHs) ranged from 28.5 and 571 µg kg−1. The estimated carcinogenic and mutagenic potency factors for these sites ranged from 2.34 to 197 and 9.66 to 195 µg kg−1 respectively. The composition of PAHs in these soils follows the order: 5-rings>4-rings>3-rings>6-rings>2-rings, and higher molecular weight PAHs accounted for a significant proportion of the Σ16 PAH concentration in this study. The results indicated that there is a high potential risk of cancer development as a result of exposure of PAHs via ingestion, dermal contact and inhalation. The diagnostic ratios indicate that the PAHs in these soils originated mainly from pyrogenic processes, such as combustion of petroleum, fossil fuels and biomass such as woods, charcoal straw and grasses. The results of this study provided information on the concentrations and compositional patterns of PAHs, which is useful in understanding the effects, sources, fate and transport of PAHs in soils, as well as environmental quality management and environmental forensic studies.

Basin-Scale Study on the Multiphase Distribution, Source Apportionment and Risk Assessment of PAHs in the Hai River Water System.

As a systematic research at basin scale, this study explored the composition and concentration characteristics of 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediments, water, and suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the water systems (rivers, lakes, and reservoirs) in the Hai River Basin through literature review. The sources and the ecosystem risks of PAHs in the sediments in the entire basin were specially discussed with diagnostic ration, PAHs composition, and an improved risk quotient method. Results showed that the total concentration of PAHs varied from 99.65 to 25,303ngg(-1) dry weight in sediments, from 51.0 to 559.1ngL(-1) in water, and from 4528 to 51,080ngg(-1) dry weight in SPM, respectively. The dominant PAHs in the three examined phases were 2-3 rings in most waterbodies. PAHs in the rivers were from mixed sources (petrogenic and pyrolytic inputs), whereas those in lakes and reservoirs were mainly from biomass combustion and petroleum combustion. PAHs in the entire basin exhibited moderate to high ecological risk, and the rivers (especially Hai River, Jiyun River, Chaobai River, and Beiyun River) suffered higher ecological risk than reservoirs and lakes. Most of the rivers with higher PAHs risk flow through or around megacity Beijing and Tianjin.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon contamination in a highly vulnerable underground river system in Chongqing, Southwest China

The concentrations of 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated in the water, sediment and topsoil of the Laolongdong underground river system (LURS) of Chongqing, Southwest China. The total concentrations of PAHs ranged from 81.5 to 8089ng/L in water, from 58.2 to 1070ng/g in sediment, and from 277 to 3301ng/g in topsoil. These levels of PAHs are relatively low compared to other karst areas. Low molecular weight (LMW) PAHs were dominant in water, sediment, topsoil samples, and high molecular weight (HMW) PAHs were more common in topsoil and sediment. The high levels of LMW PAHs in groundwater and sediment suggested relatively recent local sources of PAHs that were transported into the aquifer via wastewater discharge and surface water leakage. The similar composition of PAHs in topsoil and sediment samples suggested that the sediment originated from topsoil and that PAHs in sediment and topsoil had similar origins. The source of PAHs contamination was diagnosed by using PAH isomer ratios and a principal component analysis (PCA) method. The results indicated that PAHs mainly originated from vehicles, coal combustion and petrogenic sources. Significant correlations of PAHs with total organic carbon (TOC) in topsoil and sediment indicated that TOC was an important factor affecting PAHs content.

Environmental carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil from Himalayas, India: Implications for spatial distribution, sources apportionment and risk assessment

The Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) is one of the important mountain ecosystems among the global mountain system which support wide variety of flora, fauna, human communities and cultural diversities. Surface soil samples (n = 69) collected from IHR were analysed for 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) listed by USEPA. The ∑16PAH concentration in surface soil ranged from 15.3 to 4762 ngg−1 (mean 458 ngg−1). The sum total of low molecular weight PAH (∑LMW-PAHs) (mean 74.0 ngg−1) were relatively lower than the high molecular weight PAH (∑HMW-PAHs) (mean 384 ngg−1). The concentration of eight carcinogenic PAHs (BaA, CHR, BbF, BkF, BaP, DahA, IcdP, BghiP) were detected high in mountain soil from IHR and ranged from 0.73 to 2729 ngg−1 (mean 272 ngg−1). Based on spatial distribution map, high concentration of HMW- and LMW-PAHs were detected at GS1 site in Guwahati (615 and 4071 ngg−1), and lowest concentration of HMW-PAHs were found at IS6 in Itanagar (5.80 ngg−1) and LMW-PAHs at DS2 (17.3 ngg−1) in Dibrugarh. Total organic carbon (TOC) in mountain soil was poorly connected with ∑PAHs (r2 = 0.072) and Car-PAHs (r2 = 0.048), suggesting the little role of TOC in adsorption of PAHs. Isomeric ratio of PAHs showed the source of PAH contamination in IHR is mixed of petrogenic and pyrogenic origin and was affirmed by PAHs composition profile. These source apportionment results were further confirmed by principal component analysis (PCA). Eco-toxicological analysis showed the calculated TEQ for most carcinogenic PAH were 2–4 times more than the Dutch allowed limit, while TEQ of BaP was 25 times high, suggesting increasing trend of carcinogenicity of surface soil.

Distribution pattern of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in particle-size fractions of coking plant soils from different depth

The concentrations of 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in four size fractions (<2, 2-20, 20-200, >200 μm) in soils at different depth from a heavily contaminated crude benzol production facility of a coking plant were determined using GC-MS. Vertically, elevated total PAHs concentrations were observed in the soils at 3.0-4.5 m (layer B) and 6.0-7.5 m (layer C), relatively lower at 1.5-3.0 m (layer A) and 10.5-12.0 m (layer D). At all sampling sites, the silt (2-20 μm) contained the highest PAHs concentration (ranged from 726 to 2,711 mg/kg). Despite the substantial change in PAHs concentrations in soils with different particle sizes and lithologies, PAHs composition was similarly dominated by 2-3 ring species (86.5-98.3 %), including acenaphthene, fluorene, and phenanthrene. For the contribution of PAHs mass in each fraction to the bulk soil, the 20-200 μm size fraction had the greatest accumulation of PAHs in loamy sand layers at 1.0-7.5 m, increasing with depth; while in deeper sand layer at 10.5-12.0 m, the >200 μm size fraction showed highest percentages and contributed 81 % of total PAHs mass. For individual PAH distribution, the 2-3 ring PAHs were highly concentrated in the small size fraction (<2 and 2-20 μm); the 4-6 ring PAHs showed the highest concentrations in the 2-20 μm size fraction, increasing with depth. The distribution of PAHs was primarily determined by the sorption on soil organic matter and the characteristics of PAHs. This research should have significant contribution to PAH migration study and remediation design for PAHs-contaminated sites.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water, sediment, soil, and plants of the Aojiang River waterway in Wenzhou, China

The town of Shuitou was renowned as the leather capital of China because of its large-scale tanning industry, but the industry's lack of pollution controls has caused severe damage to the local water system. This study determined 15 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water, sediment, soil, and plant samples collected from Aojiang River and its estuary. The total PAHs ranged from 910 to 1520 ng/L in water samples. The total PAH in sediments were moderate to low in comparison with other rivers and estuaries in China, but the relative proportions of PAHs per million people are high when considering the population size associated with each watershed. Ratios of fluoranthene/pyrene and PAHs with low/high molecular weight suggest a petrogenic PAH origin. The PAH composition profile in soil was similar to that in sediment with 4-6 ring PAHs being dominant. The PAHs with 2-3 rings were the dominant species in plant leaves. There were no correlations between PAHs in soils and in plants, suggesting that PAHs accumulate in plant leaves through absorption from the air. The general observation of elevated PAH concentrations in all matrix suggests a possible contribution by the local leather industry on the PAH concentrations in the Aojiang watershed.

Distribution, sources and ecological risks of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water-sediment system in Lake Small Baiyangdian

The contents of 15 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water, suspended particulate matter (SPM) and sediment from six sampling sites in Lake Small Baiyangdian nearby Duancun Village were measured by GC-MS. The PAHs distribution, composition, source and ecological risk were analyzed. The following results were obtained: (1) the total contents of 15 priority PAHs (PAH15) varied from 40.1 to 74.0ng/L with the average of 51.0ng/L in water, from 2438.0 to 5927.0ng/g with the average of 4528ng/g in SPM, and from 466.9 to 1366.4ng/g with the average of 755.6ng/g in sediments. Compared with other areas in or out of China, the PAHs contamination was not serious. (2) The percentages of 2- and 3-rings PAHs accounted for more than 80% of PAH15 in water, SPM and sediment, respectively. From water, SPM, to sediments, the percentages of 2-rings PAHs were declined sequentially; while these of 3- and 4-rings as well as 5- and 6-rings PAHs were increased gradually. (3) The major sources of PAHs in sediments were the combustions of biomass fuels (straw, firewood) and coal; while the combustions of liquid fossil fuels including gasoline, diesel and crude oil was the secondary sources. (4) Owing to the contents of Fluorene (FLO) and Phenanthrene (PHE) varying between the ERL(effects range low) and ERM (effects range median), their probabilities of ecological risks was estimated between 10%-50%. The probabilities of ecological risks for the rest species of 15 priority PAHs were below 10%, since their contents were lower than the ERL.

Distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in particle‐size separates and density fractions of typical agricultural soils in the Yangtze River Delta, east China

SummarySoil organic matter can be divided into different organic carbon (C) pools with different turnover rates. The organic pollutants in soils associated with these organic C pools may have different bioavailability and environmental risks during the decomposition of soil organic matter. We studied the distribution patterns of 15 USEPA priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in different particle‐size separates (clay, fine silt, coarse silt, fine sand and coarse sand) and density fractions (light and heavy fractions) of nine agricultural topsoils (0–20 cm depth) from a contaminated area in the Yangtze River Delta region of east China. There was a decreasing trend in PAH concentration in particle‐size separates with decreasing particle size. However, the different particle‐size separates had similar PAH composition. The concentration of PAHs in the light fraction ranged from 13 037 to 107 299 μg kg−1, far higher than in the heavy fraction, which ranged from 222 to 298 μg kg−1. Although the light fraction accounted for only 0.4–2.3% of the soils, it was associated with 31.5–69.5% of soil PAHs. The organic matter in coarse silt had the strongest capacity for enrichment with PAHs. Combining the distributions of PAHs and the turnover rates of organic matter in different soil fractions, the environmental risks of PAH‐polluted soils may be due mainly to the PAHs associated with sand and the light fraction.

Occurrence of dissolved PAHs in the Jinsha River (Panzhihua)--upper reaches of the Yangtze River, Southwest China.

16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in water samples from the Jinsha River (Panzhihua part), Southwest China. Total dissolved PAH concentrations varied from 21.89 microg l(-1) to 382.8 microg l(-1). It was found that the concentration of PAHs decreased along the flow direction due to the higher density distribution of coal chemical industry in the upstream of our study rivers. The pollution levels in our study area are significantly higher than previously reported values in other waters both in China and other countries. The predominance of benzo[k]fluoranthene and indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene was clearly observed in all water samples. On average these two compounds accounted for 98.3% of the total dissolved PAH concentration in water. The results showed the positive correlations among total dissolved PAHs, benzo[k]fluoranthene and indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene, which suggested that these two predominant PAHs have similar source and environmental behaviors in our study area. When compared with the survey results of organic micropollutants two decades ago, it was found that hydrocarbon pollution both predominated and even increased with the development of coal chemical industry in this area during the past 20 years. The results therefore provide important information on the current contamination status of a key industrial city in China, and points to the need for urgent action to investigate the relationship between the PAH composition and concentration in water from the Jinsha River and the wastewater discharge from coal chemical industry, and to identify the source, transport pathway and fate of PAHs in the area. It should then be necessary to adopt appropriate and instant measures to control the pollution around this area.

Characterization and identification of a “mystery” oil spill from Quebec (1999)

This paper describes a case study in which advanced chemical fingerprinting and data interpretation techniques were used to characterize the chemical compositions and determine the source of an unknown spilled oil from Quebec. On 28 February 1999, significant amounts of oil was reported on the river banks of St. Laurence River in front of a company named “Thermex” (in a town – Beauharnois, Quebec, about 50 km northwest of Montreal). The spilled oil was suspected to be released from a nearby factory. In response to this specific site investigation needs, a tiered analytical approach using GC–MS and GC–flame ionization detection was applied. A variety of diagnostic ratios of “source-specific marker” compounds, in particular isomers of biomarkers and alkylated series of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons within the same alkylation groups, were determined and analyzed. The hydrocarbon analysis results reveal the following: (1) the spilled oil is very “specific”, and is significantly different from most crude oils in chemical composition; (2) the oil in samples come from the same source, however, the spill sample 2569 was identified to contain a small amount (∼10%) of diesel; (3) the spilled oil was relatively “fresh”, its chemical composition has not undergone significant alteration yet; (4) the spilled oil showed unusually high concentration of the US Environmental Protection Agency priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The “Pyrogenic Index” values were determined to be as high as 0.11–0.13, significantly higher than crude oils (<0.010) and heavy Bunker type fuels (0.015–0.060). This indicates significant contribution of PAH composition from pyrogenic components; (5) biomarkers were also detected, but their concentrations were unusually low in comparison to most crude oils.

Distribution and composition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons within experimental microcosms treated with liquid creosote

AbstractTemporal changes in the distribution and relative composition of 15 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water, sediment, and absorbed to polyvinylchloride (PVC) strips were assessed following direct application of liquid creosote to aquatic microcosms. Fourteen microcosms were treated with nominal creosote concentrations ranging from 0.06 to 109 mg/L and two microcosms served as controls. Quantitative analysis of PAHs was performed using high‐performance liquid chromatography equipped with a fluorescence detector. Post‐treatment concentration of PAHs in water decreased exponentially with time. At 2 d posttreatment, total PAHs (∑ PAH) ranged from 7.3 μg/L (lowest treatment) to 5,803.2 μg/L (highest treatment); by 84 d, ∑ PAH in the same microcosms was reduced to between 0.8 μg/L and 13.9 μg/L, respectively. The relative composition of PAHs in the water also changed with time; at 2 d posttreatment, ∑ PAH in the lowest treatment (7.3 μg/L) reflected contribution from nine PAHs, whereas only two PAHs contributed to this concentration (0.8 μg/L) at 84 d. Low and high molecular weight (mol. wt.) PAHs were lost first from the water column, followed by PAHs of intermediate mol wt. In sediments, a dose‐dependent increase in ∑ PAH was observed above 0.59 mg/L creosote up to 28 d, followed by a decline thereafter in all but the highest treatment. Total PAHs in sediment ranged from 0.91 μg/g (lowest treatment) to 63.9 μg/g (highest treatment) at 28 d. A dose‐dependent relationship was also observed in PVC strips, with ∑ PAH on PVC ranging from 0.05 to 88 μg/cm2 at 31 d and 0.04 to 18.4 μg/cm2 at 58 d posttreatment. A mass balance evaluation showed that 88.3% of PAHs was lost from the system after 1 month, indicating that liquid creosote is attenuated relatively quickly in aquatic environments.