Fate and Transport of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Upland Irish Headwater Lake Catchments

Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a concern due to their carcinogenicity and propensity for transboundary atmospheric transport. Ireland is located on the western periphery of Europe and assumed to receive clean Atlantic air. As such, it has been used as an atmospheric reference for comparison to other regions. Nonetheless, few studies have evaluated concentrations of PAHs within the Irish environment. In the current study, PAHs were measured at five upland (500–800 masl) headwater lake catchments in coastal regions around Ireland, remote from industrial point source emissions. Semipermeable membrane devices were deployed in lakes for a 6-month period in July 2009, and topsoils were sampled from each catchment during October 2010. The concentrations of PAHs were low at most study sites with respect to other temperate regions. Homologue groups partitioned between lake and soil compartments based on their molecular weight were: “lighter” substances, such as Phenanthrene and Fluorene, were found in higher proportions in lakes, whereas “heavier” compounds, such as Chrysene and Benz[a]anthracene, were more prominent in soils. Concentrations of PAHs were highest at the east coast sites, potentially due to contributions from historical transboundary and regional combustion sources.

An evaluation of the residual toxicity and chemistry of a sodium hydroxide‐based ballast water treatment system for freshwater ships

“…As expected, PAH profiles in inlet water (lake water), in treated water (BWTS), and in scrubber water were dominated by parent PAHs, with few alkylated compounds (Supplemental Data, Table S4), reflecting the combustion source of these compounds . Phenanthrene is often found in surface waters and comprised 65% of the tPAH detected in the lake water (inlet water) in the present study.…”

Imaging the distribution of bitumen contaminants in shallow coastal plain sands in southwestern Nigeria using electrical resistivity

“…Hence, the hydrocarbon migrates upward to the shallow subsurface where processes including evaporation, reduction-oxidation, and biodegradation remove the lighter component leaving behind the heavier component-e.g., bitumen (Ahad et al 2018;Fennell and Arciszewski 2019;Korosi et al 2016). When the seeps arrive at the shallow subsurface, their interaction with air and porewater phases in the unsaturated zone (soil) and groundwater in the saturated zone result in adsorption to grains and desorption into the liquid phase via chemical disequilibrium releasing dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) hydrocarbon over a long duration which contaminates the soil and groundwater (Scott et al 2012). Understanding the level of such geogenic contamination is necessary to manage and remediate the contaminated soil and aquifers.…”

Imaging the distribution of bitumen contaminants in shallow coastal plain sands in Southwestern Nigeria using electrical resistivity

“…Hence, the hydrocarbon migrates upward to the shallow subsurface where processes including evaporation, reduction-oxidation, and biodegradation remove the lighter component leaving behind the heavier component -e.g., bitumen (Ahad et al, 2018;Fennell & Arciszewski, 2019;Korosi et al, 2016). When the seeps arrive at the shallow subsurface, their interaction with air and porewater phases in the unsaturated zone (soil) and groundwater in the saturated zone result in adsorption to grains and desorption into the liquid phase via chemical disequilibrium releasing dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) hydrocarbon over a long duration which contaminates the soil and groundwater (Scott, 2012). Understanding the level of such geogenic contamination is necessary to manage and remediate the contaminated soil and aquifers.…”