Determination of PAHs in marine sediments: analytical methods and environmental concerns

Abstract

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are one of the major categories of pollutants
 entering the marine environment and finally accumulating in the sediments. Their occurrence
 raises major concerns for human health, especially during coastal activities (bathing waters,
 aquaculture, etc), having combined adverse effects still largely unknown when they are
 present as mixtures. Moreover, during their remobilization (e.g. dredging activities), their
 bioavailability can increase resulting in a risk for marine environment. Several of them are
 known to be potential human carcinogens including benzo[a]anthracene, chrysene,
 benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[a]pyrene and benzo[ghi]perylene. Therefore they have been
 included in the priority list of the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC and also sixteen of
 them have been regulated by the US EPA as priority pollutants, and their distributions in the
 environment and potential human health risks have become the focus of much attention.
 The determination of PAHs in environmental matrices has been subject of great scientific
 attention during the latest years, as the accuracy and sensitivity of analytical methods need to
 be improved in order to be able to detect the compounds of interest in a complex matrix such
 as sediments. Therefore, significant research is being devoted to the optimization of analytical
 methodologies. A great number of studies have been performed on PAHs analysis in marine
 sediments. Various analytical procedures based on gas chromatographic analyses are
 reviewed and comparatively discussed in this paper.

Review—Trends in Recent Developments in Electrochemical Sensors for the Determination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons from Water Resources and Catchment Areas

“…3 As a result of their toxic effects, PAHs are considered as priority pollutants and their analysis attracts major attention in the analytical scientific community. Therefore, extensive studies have been carried out in recent years for the detection, identification, quantification and removal of PAHs in different environmental matrices over the world, like soil, 4 air, 5 water, 6,7 food 8,9 and marine sediments, 10 and many of them are unveiling very high levels of PAHs.…”