Surface water polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in urban areas of Nanjing, China

Abstract

The concentration, sources and environmental risks of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in surface water in urban areas of Nanjing were investigated. The range of ∑PAHs concentration is between 4,076 and 29,455 ng/L, with a mean of 17,212 ng/L. The composition of PAHs indicated that 2- and 3-ring PAHs have the highest proportion in all PAHs, while the 5- and 6-ring PAHs were the least in proportion. By diagnostic ratio analysis, combustion and petroleum were a mixture input that contributed to the water PAH in urban areas of Nanjing. Positive matrix factorization quantitatively identified four factors, including coke oven, coal combustion, oil source, and vehicle emission, as the main sources. Toxic equivalency factors of BaP (BaP) evaluate the environmental risks of PAHs and indicate the PAH concentration in surface water in urban areas of Nanjing had been polluted and might cause potential environmental risks. Therefore, the PAH contamination in surface water in urban areas of Nanjing should draw considerable attention.

Influence of Industrialization and Environmental Protection on Environmental Pollution: A Case Study of Taihu Lake, China

“…Accompanying the decline in environmental quality in China, the concentration of pollutants in the environment is rapidly increasing. Pollutants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are represented by benzopyrene (BaP) [5,6,7,8,9,10,11] and the heavy metal contaminant cadmium (Cd) [12,13,14], pose serious threats to our environment and life due to their strong toxicity and carcinogenicity. In the late twentieth century and early twenty-first century, both the government and people in general began to realize the importance of the environment; as such, environmental protection was strengthened and a series of legal measures for environmental protection were enacted [15,16], as shown in Table 1.…”

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals in urban environments: Concentrations and joint risks in surface soils with diverse land uses

“…In recent years, Nanjing has severe environmental problems resulting from its fast‐growing population, traffic, and industrial production (Wang, Zhou, He, et al, ). Many researchers have found that contaminants are present in different environmental media in Nanjing and its neighboring region in recent years (Hu et al, ; Lin, Wu, Ma, & Su, ; Lin, Ma, & Xiong, ; Wang et al, ; Lou et al, ; Wang, Wu, Zhou, Shi, & Song, ).…”

Adsorption of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons by Natural, Synthetic and Modified Clays

“…A volume of 10 mL of a PAH mixture solution (Naph, 500 ng/mL; Acy, 1000 ng/mL; Ace, 500 ng/mL; Fluo, 50 ng/mL; Phen, 50 ng/mL; Ant, 50 ng/mL; Flt, 50 ng/mL; Pyr, 50 ng/mL; BaA, 50 ng/mL; Chry, 50 ng/mL; BbF, 50 ng/mL; BkF, 50 ng/mL; BaP, 50 ng/mL; DahA, 100 ng/mL; BghiP, 50 ng/mL; IcdP, 50 ng/mL in water) was placed into a 25 mL flask containing 10 mg of each material (Mt, Na-Mica-4, ODA-Mt, ODA-Mica-4, ODTMA-Mt and ODTMA-Mica-4). Note that the concentration levels were selected based on the concentration frequently measured for PAHs in environmental samples [43][44][45][46]. The mixture was stirred at 600 rpm for 24 h. Subsequently, the supernatants were filtered (0.45 µm nylon filter) and an aliquot of 20 µL was injected into the HPLC system.…”