Assessing 16 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in River Basin Water and Sediment Regarding Spatial-Temporal Distribution, Partitioning, and Ecological Risks

Abstract

This work investigated the distribution, partitioning, and ecological risks of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water and sediment of the Yinma River Basin in China in normal, wet, and dry seasons. Sixteen PAHs were analyzed in 17 paired sets of water and sediment samples collected from the study area. The concentrations of PAHs in water and sediment showed spatial-temporal variations, the concentrations in water ranged from 167.6 to 373.9 ng/L with a mean value of 227.9 ng/L in the normal season, from 186.0 to 386.9 ng/L with a mean value of 281.6 ng/L in the wet season, and ranged from 147.0 to 315.9 ng/L with an average value of 218.6 ng/L in the dry season, while concentrations in sediment varied from 895.6 to 2,518.2 ng/g with a mean value of 1,739.4 ng/g in the normal season, from 1,233.0 to 4,763.0 ng/g with a mean value of 2,122.6 ng/g in the wet season, and ranged from 914.2 to 5,678.5 ng/g with an average value of 1,943.7 ng/g in the dry season. Partitioning of PAHs in water and sediment was studied and the result showed that PAHs tend to absorb in sediment. Ecological risk assessments were conducted based on the species-sensitivity distribution (SSD) model, with results suggesting that ecological risks of individual PAHs in water and sediment were little, and the multiple congeners of PAHs in sediment from some sampling sites had ecological risks. Primary sources of 16 PAHs in water and sediment were identified with isomer ratios, and results indicated that primary sources of PAHs in water were identified as a mixture pattern of petroleum and combustion sources, and in sediment were identified as a mixture pattern of petroleum and grass, wood and coal combustion sources.

Untitled

“…The concentrations of the PAHs obtained from the different discharge points are shown in Table 1. The first four members of the group, Benzo (g,h,i) perylene and Indeno (1 The summation of the PAHs in the individual stations in the present work is lower than the observation of many authors [19,20,21]. The observation of PAHs in the present research work is at variance with the observations of [22].…”

“…The observed values showed that PAHs at Iwofe Jetty and Police Post stations were > 0.1, which suggested pyrogenic sources of origin. The above observation did not agree with those of [21]. That observed values lower than 0.1 in the ratio between An/(An+Phe) in sediments from Yinma River, China, but agrees with those of sediment from Pearl River, China and those of sediments Qinhuai River and Xuanwu Lake, Nanjing, China, where there was excessive coal and grass burning along the area [29,30].…”

Assessment of the Pollution Load of the Woji Creek Water Body, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, South-South, Nigeria

“…The values so obtained are far below the established permissible level of 10 mg/L in water (Wokoma, 2015). The THC is the quantity of the measured hydrocarbon impurities and usually expressed in methane equivalent (Wu etal., 2001 Chen et al, (2018) in River Basin water in Poland. Though the values were lower than those obtained in River Ethiope, Asaba-Ase and Egbokodo in Nigeria, there is still a threat of PAHS to aquatic life within the examined waterbody.…”

Pollution Characteristics of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Unsaturated Zone of the Different Workshops at a Large Iron and Steel Industrial Site of Beijing, China

“…Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have carcinogenic, teratogenic and mutagenic characteristics which pose a significant risk to human health and cause a major environmental concern [1][2]. PAHs released into the environment will generally enter into the soil due to their lipophilic and hydrophobic characteristic.…”

“…The objectives of the present study were: (1) to explore levels and spatial distribution of PAHs and related controlling factors in surface soil of the different workshops, (2) to understand vertical distribution and migration characteristic of PAHs under heterogeneous conditions in deep unsaturated zone and (3) to determine PAH compositions, sources and ecological risk in soils of the different workshops.…”