Distribution and ecological risks of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediments of different tropical water ecosystems in Niger Delta,Nigeria

Sediments are considered as suitable matrices to study the contamination levels of aquatic environment since they represent a sink for multiple contaminant sources. In this study, the influence of sediment characteristics on the distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and its potential risk in euryhaline, freshwater and humic aquatic bodies of Douglas/Stubbs creek, Ikpa River and Eniong River, respectively, were investigated. The level of PAHs in sediment was quantified using GC–MS, while sediment properties including total organic carbon (TOC) content and grain size were determined by the wet oxidation and hydrometer methods, respectively. The results revealed that the total levels of PAHs in sediment varied significantly between the euryhaline, freshwater and humic freshwater ecosystems. In Ikpa River freshwater ecosystem, a total PAHs load of 1055.2 ng/g was recorded with the suites concentration ranging from 13.0 ng/g (for acenaphthylene) to 161 ng/g (for pyrene). The humic ecosystem of Eniong River had a total PAH load of 11.06 ng/g, while the suites level recorded ranged from 0.04 ng/g for acenaphthene to 2.65 ng/g for chrysene. The total level of PAHs detected in the euryhaline Douglas/Stubbs creek was 14.47 ng/g, and suite concentrations varied between 4.27 ng/g for naphthalene and 5.13 ng/g for acenaphthylene. This shows variation in quantity and quality of PAH contaminants with the nature of ecosystems. It implies complex and diverse contamination sources as well as different capabilities to recover from PAH contamination. Correlation analysis has shown that sediment particle and TOC content influenced PAHs burden in bottom sediments, but the effects varied with the molecular weight of PAHs and the nature of the ecosystems. The TOC was the most significant determinant of PAHs load and distribution in sediment of the freshwater Ikpa River and euryhaline Douglas/Stubbs but had little or no influence in the humic sediment of Eniong River, while the influence of particle size was generally indefinite but slightly associated with PAHs accumulation in the euryhaline sediment. Generally, the total PAH levels (11.0–1055.2 ng/g) recorded were low and below the allowable limit for aquatic sediments. The ecological risk assessment revealed that these levels were lower than the effects range low and effects range medium values. This indicates no acute adverse biological effect although the accumulation of PAHs in freshwater ecosystem of Ikpa River may pose ecological risks as most of the carcinogenic PAH suites had relatively high pollution indices compared to other ecosystem types studied.     

Characterization and source apportionment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediments in the Yellow River Estuary, China

Concentrations and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated in surface sediments of the Yellow River Estuary (YRE). The isobath-parallel tidal and residual currents play important roles in the variation of PAH distribution, such that the contamination level of PAHs in fine-grained sediments is significantly higher than in the relatively coarse grain size sediments. Both diagnostic ratios and principal component analysis (PCA) with multivariate linear regression (MLR) were used to apportion sources of PAHs. The results revealed that pyrogenic sources are important sources of PAHs. Further analysis indicated that the contributions of coal combustion, traffic-related pollution and mixed sources (spills of oil products and vegetation combustion) were 35, 29 and 36 %, respectively, using PCA/MLR. Pyrogenic sources (coal combustion and traffic-related pollution) contribute 64 % of anthropogenic PAHs in sediments, which indicates that energy consumption could be a predominant factor in PAH pollution of YRE. Acenaphthylene and acenaphthene are the two main species of PAHs with more ecotoxicological concern in YRE.     

Levels and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in selected irrigated urban agricultural soils in Accra, Ghana

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous organic pollutants in urban environments including urban soils. Elevated concentrations of PAHs in urban soils are caused by incomplete combustion of petroleum and coal. This study assesses 16 individual PAH compounds in a total of 112 surficial soil samples. The objective was to assess and compare the levels of contamination as well as examine the main sources of PAHs in four urban agricultural soils using molecular ratios of some specific hydrocarbons. The study showed that PAH levels in soil ranged from 1.23 ng/kg in soil collected from Dzorwulu to 2.95 ng/kg in soil collected from Ghana Broadcasting Cooperation (GBC) vegetable irrigation site. Of the total PAHs, the more water soluble PAHs (2–4 rings), which tend to be concentrated in the vapour phase were found to dominate the soils. The percentage dominance were Dzorwulu (52.8 %), Marine Drive (62.5 %), CSIR (53.2 %) and GBC (49.2 %). However, there were significant levels of the more carcinogenic PAHs (5–6 rings) present with percentages as 47.1, 37.5 46.8 and 50.8 % for Dzorwulu, Marine Drive, CSIR and GBC vegetable irrigation sites, respectively, and therefore, may impact negatively on public health. Based on the classification by the Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation in Pulawy, Poland, urban soils in Accra could be classified as contaminated to different levels. Molecular ratios of Flu/pyr and PA/Ant were calculated to determine the main sources of PAHs. Results showed that PAHs could originate mainly from incomplete combustion of petroleum products, especially from atmospheric fallout from automobile exhausts. The study further showed that B(a)P concentration of 0.05 ng/kg in soil from GBC urban vegetable irrigation site requires immediate clean-up exercise and monitoring to mitigate human health impact.     

广州市空气颗粒物中烃类物质的粒径分布

用 Andersen六段分级大流量采样器 (粒径为 : 10～ 7.2 μ m, 7.2～ 3.0 μ m, 3.0～ 1.5 μ m, 1.5～ 0.95 μ m, 0.95～ 0.49 μ m, ≤ 0.49 μ m)采集了广州市荔湾区 4个季度的大气颗粒物样品 , 用气相色谱 (GC)定量分析了其中的正构烷烃 (n-alkanes)组分,用气相色谱-质谱 (GC-MS)定量分析了其中的多环芳烃 (PAHs)组分. CPI2(代表石油成因的碳优势指数 )、 CPI3(代表生物成因的碳优势指数 ) 和 Wax(植物蜡含量 )表明了石油成因的烷烃倾向于富集在细颗粒物上,而生物成因的烷烃倾向于富集在粗颗粒物上.正构烷烃和低相对分子质量多环芳烃表现出双峰模型分布,高相对分子质量多环芳烃呈现单峰模型分布,仅在细颗粒段有一峰值.烷烃和芳烃秋冬季的 MMDs(质量中值直径 )比春夏季的大.在高温季节化合物优先富集在细颗粒物上,而在低温季节则向粗的颗粒物方向偏移.     

Survey of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Jiaxing city, China

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and nitrated PAH (NPAH) products are toxic. Thus, determination of their concentrations is of great interest to researchers of soil and water pollution control. In this work, soil samples, surface water samples, and groundwater samples were collected, and the concentrations of 16 priority PAHs and 15 NPAHs were determined using an HPLC-ultraviolet detector. Results showed that the total PAH concentrations ranged within 489.69–1,670.11 ng/g (average = 905.89 ng/g) in soil samples, 4.00–23.4 μg/l (average = 9.84 μg/l) in surface water samples, and 2.14–22.3 μg/l (average = 8.37 μg/l) in groundwater samples. The NPAH concentrations were one to two orders of magnitude lower than the PAH concentrations and ranged within 22.72–128.70 ng/g (average = 63.88 ng/g) in soil samples. 2-Nitropyrene and 6-nitrochrysene were the most abundant compounds, accounting for about 14.3 and 26.5 %, respectively. Source analysis revealed that most PAHs originated from coal combustion around the study area, whereas NPAH studies suggested that the primary emission of gasoline engines and daytime OH reactions were the dominant sources of these compounds.     

Significance of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Permian/Triassic boundary sections

In this study the abundances of several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs Table 1, I–XXI) have been measured throughout three Permian/Triassic (P/Tr) sections from Meishan (South China), Kap Stosch area (East Greenland) and Peace River Basin (Western Canada). Dibenzothiophene (I) and dibenzofuran (II) were found to decrease in abundance just before or shortly after the P/Tr transition in all three sections while perylene (III) was observed to increase in abundance at the onset of the main extinction horizon (bed 25) in Meishan. Perylene has been attributed to a wood degrading fungal source and, therefore, it seems possible these phenomena are related to the demise of land plants. Further, distinct patterns of various combustion-derived PAHs occurring in each section imply that forest fire events occurred within the Late Permian and Early Triassic. In the Meishan section high amounts of combustion-derived PAHs [pyrene (IV), fluoranthene (V), benzo[a]anthracene (VI), benzofluoranthenes (sum, i.e. VII), benzo[a]pyrene (VIII), benzo[e]pyrene (IX) and coronene (X)] occur within bed 25, also containing ash attributed to the fallout from massive volcanic eruptions in Siberia and/or China.     

Toxicity and genotoxicity of industrial soils polluted by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)

Three soil samples polluted by PAH were assessed for both acute (Vibrio fischeri [Microtox® test], Daphnia magna, Thamnocephalus platyurus) and chronic (Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata) toxicity, as well as for genotoxicity (Vibrio fischeri M169, [Mutatox® test]). Bioassays were performed on soil water leachates and on soil solvent extracts to characterise not only the fraction of water soluble pollutants but also to evaluate less soluble and soil-bound pollutants. The toxicity of the water leachates was low to moderate (from 0 to 30 toxic units) whereas the toxicity of the methanol extracts was about 100 to 10,000 toxic units. Although only slightly toxic, the genotoxicity of water leachates was clearly demonstrated. This finding shows that acute and chronic toxicity assays alone may not be sufficient to characterize soil hazards. A step procedure to characterise soil ecotoxicity is therefore proposed which allows one to study the pollutant mobility, toxicity and genotoxicity. It can be used to identify the hazard, to classify soil hazards and thus map contaminated sites, to assess the success of treatment and finally to monitor rehabilitated sites.     

Accumulation and risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soils around oil sludge in Zhongyuan oil field, China

In this paper, the contents of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil samples around three different oily sludge plants in winter were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and the pollution degree with PAHs in soil samples was determined. Soil samples were collected from the agricultural soil around three different oily sludge plants (the Third Wenming Plant, the Third Mazhai Plant, and the Fourth Wener Plant) along with the leeway in Zhongyuan oil field. The distances from collected sample sites to oily sludge plants are 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 m, respectively. The results show that the contents of PAHs in soil samples decrease dramatically with the increase of the distance from the oily sludge, and that the PAHs with 2–4 rings are major pollutants in the oily sludge and soil samples. The main factors, which influenced the distribution of PAHs are discussed. Based on Nemero Index P, the classification evaluation shows that the soils around the oily sludge are heavily polluted in winter. The health risk assessment and ecological risk assessment of the soils around the oily sludge in Zhongyuan oil field in winter are analyzed.     

Sources and transports of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Nanshan Underground River,China

Karst areas have much higher ecological vulnerability and are easy to be contaminated by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are introduced as health risk pollutants. PAHs ratios were used to understand the sources and transport behavior of PAHs conducted in the karst Nanshan Underground River, China. Water, sediments from the underground river and water, sediments, soil from the surface were collected monthly in 2011 and 2012. Abundant PAHs were found both in the underground river and in the surface system. The detected ΣPAHs concentrations varied from 353 to 13,203 ng L^?1 in the groundwaters and content from 169 to 12,038 ng g^?1 in the sediments of the underground river. The ratios of anthracene to anthracene, plus phenanthrene and fluoranthene to fluoranthene, plus pyrene indicated that PAHs were delivered in the groundwaters from combusted grass, wood, and coal, while in the sediments were a mixture of non-combusted petroleum, grass, wood, coal and combusted grass, wood, coal. The similarities in sources between an underground river and surface system indicated that farmlands play a major role for the transport of PAHs and contamination in the underground river. Karst features are liable for the transport behavior.     

Ultrasonic wave extraction and simultaneous analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and phthalic esters in soil

A method is developed for detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) and Phthalic Acid Esters(PAEs) in soil samples. Ultrasonic Wave Extraction under airtight circumstances is adopted to extract the analytes in soil samples with n-hexane–acetone(V:V=1:1) as extraction solvent. This method has several advantages, including high extraction efficiency, short time, convenience and simplicity. It can be used to detect polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) and Phthalic Acid Esters(PAEs) in soil.     

N-Alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) profile of soil from some polluted sites in Niger Delta, Nigeria

Soil samples were collected at different locations from Etche and Obio Akpor local government area (LGA) of River State in Niger Delta. The n-alkane and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were determined qualitatively and quantitatively using GC-FID. The concentration of PAHs in the soil samples ranged from 7.40 to 78.3 ng/g. The highest concentration of PAHs was recorded in Agbada 1 flow station, while the lowest concentration was recorded in Agbada 2 flow station. A significant level of pollution was also observed in the soil of Bomu pipeline at Obio Akpor LGA. Also, the distribution of n-alkanes in the samples was also used to assess the level of pollution in the studied area. Various n-alkanes and PAHs ratios were obtained to know the major source of pollution in the area under study. The main source of pollution was pyrolytic, which might be due to the gas flaring activities going on in the study area. Also, the results showed that n-alkanes could also be a complementary tool in assessing pollution and source apportionment.     

Phytotoxicity of ancient gaswork soils. Effect of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on plant germination

The phytotoxicity of various contaminated soils was assessed by plant inventories on ancient industrial fields and by phytotoxicity tests. Industrial fields are well colonised by numerous weedy plants. Phytotoxicity was tested with pure PAHs, ancient industrial soils, soil leaches, liquid tar and tar volatile compounds. Both field studies and toxicity tests show that contaminated samples can be classified into two categories: first, a recently excavated soil/liquid tar that was foul-smelling and phytotoxic and second, an ‘aged’, surface soil that was weathered and non-phytotoxic. Plant germination and growth are strongly inhibited by the presence of volatile, water-soluble low molecular-weight hydrocarbons (<3 rings) such as benzene, toluene, xylene (BTX), styrene, indene, naphthalene and other possibly toxic substances. On the other hand, high molecular weight PAH (3–5 rings) did not show any phytotoxicity under the conditions studied. These findings suggest that once low molecular weight aromatic hydrocarbons are removed, e.g. by volatilization, biodegradation, weathering, tillage and fertilising, plants should be able to grow.     

Sources and distribution of aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Yellow River Delta Nature Reserve, China

Sediment samples collected from the Core Area, Experimental Area and Buffer Area of Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve (YRDNNR), China, were analyzed by GC-MS in order to determine the degree of hydrocarbon contamination, and identify the sources of aliphatic hydrocarbons and PAHs. The total petroleum hydrocarbon contents of sediments were relatively low or moderate compared to world-wide locations reported to be chronically contaminated by oil. On the whole, the degree of petroleum contamination in the Core Area and Buffer Area in YRDNNR is weaker than that of the Experimental Area. The potential ecosystem risk assessment indicated that PAHs will not cause immediate adverse biological effects in the YRDNNR. Besides oil-related hydrocarbon inputs in this region, aliphatic hydrocarbon analysis showed the presence of hydrocarbons of terrestrial origin at some sampling sites, characterized by high CPI values. Based on PAH ratios and principal component analysis, pyrolytic input may be a major source of PAHs in YRDNNR sediment, while petrogenic inputs were more apparent at some sites in the Experimental Area due to oil exploration in the Shengli Oilfield.     

太湖宜溧河水系沉积物中多环芳烃来源解析

利用索氏提取技术和GC／MS测定，分析了太湖定溧河水系中13个样点沉积物中的多环芳烃（PAHs)，并利用芳香类不可分辨鼓包峰的检出、多环芳烃组分协相关因子检验及PAHs特征化合物指数，分析了太湖流域宜溧河水系中各地区的PAHs污染来源差异，并结合定溧河所在地区工业布局和环境特征得到了验证。溧阳附近PAHs主要来自于油类污染和染料工业的影响；宜兴市附近PAHs来源与溧阳不同，主要与现代煤烟型污染有关。从水第的干支流对比中发现，主干河道中沉积物PAHs污染来源比支流复杂的多，存在多种污染源交叉作用的情况。     

Study on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons（PAHs） contents and sources in the surface so~l or l-lmznou City, South China, based on multivariate statistics analysis

Studies of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the surface soil were conducted in Huizhou City, which is located in the Pearl River Delta, South China. Sixteen PAHs in 42 soil samples were detected. The results showed that 4 components of PAHs were detectable in all soil samples, and other 12 components were also detectable to some extent. The total PAHs contents range from 35.40 to 534.5 μg/kg with the mean value of 123.09 μg/kg. Soil in Huizhou was slightly polluted by PAHs according to Maliszewska-Kordybach’s study. It can be confirmed that the increase of PAHs contents in the surface soil of Huizhou City is closely connected to human activities. Multivariate analysis was also made in this study. Principal component analysis was used to constrain their origins, and 3 principal components (PCs) were extracted. The results showed that coal combustion and oil spilling made the major contributions to PAHs. Cluster analysis was made and 16 priority PAHs were classified as 4 sorts, and the result revealed the differences in environmental behavior, chemical properties and sources of PAHs.     

Sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to northwestern Saskatchewan lakes east of the Athabasca oil sands

The past several decades have witnessed a significant expansion of mining activities in the Athabasca oil sands region, raising concerns about their impact on the surrounding boreal forest ecosystem. To better understand the extent to which distal sites are impacted by oil sands-derived airborne contaminants, we examine sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in surface sediments and dated sediment cores from Saskatchewan lakes situated ∼100–220 km east–northeast of the main area of bitumen mining activities. The concentrations and fluxes of both parent and alkylated PAHs are low and show considerable variability over the past 70–100 years. Small yet discernible increases in PAH concentrations and fluxes occurred over the past 30 years, a trend which coincides with the rapid growth in bitumen production. However, several lines of evidence point to wildfires as the principal source of PAHs to these lakes: (1) the significant co-variations in most cores between retene (1-methyl-7-isopropyl phenanthrene) and other groups of parent and alkylated PAHs, (2) the similarity in compound specific δ¹³C signatures of the parent PAHs phenanthrene and pyrene in recently deposited surficial sediments and those corresponding to time intervals considerably pre-dating the large scale development of the oil sands and (3) the discernible up-core increases in the proportion of refractory carbon (i.e., char) in Rock-Eval 6 data. The collective evidence points to softwood combustion from boreal forest fires as the principal source of retene in sediments and the general increase in forest fire activity in this region over the past several decades as the source of refractory carbon. Mining activities associated with the Athabasca oil sands are thus not considered a major source of PAHs to these lakes.     

Pollution characteristics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons （PAHs） in oily sludge from the Zhongyuan Oilfield and its peripheral soils

The purpose of this study is to determine the degree of contamination caused by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in oily sludge and soils around it in the Zhongyuan Oilfield. The contents of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in oily sludge samples were determined with HPLC. The contents of PAHs of oily sludge from three different oil production plants vary from high to low in the order of the Wenming oily sludge dumping site of No. 3 Oil Production Plant (3W)>the Mazhai oily sludge dumping site of No. 3 Oil Production Plant (3M)>the Wen’er oily sludge dumping site of No. 4 Oil Production Plant (4W). Naphthalene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, fluorine and phenanthrene are the major pollutants of PAHs in oily sludge. The contents of PAHs in soil samples around the oily sludge dumping sites vary widely from 434.49 to 2408.8 ng/g. Naphthalene, acenaphthene, fluorine, phenanthrene and pyrene are the characteristic factors of PAHs in soil samples of 3M and 3W, and naphthalene, acenaphthene, fluorine and phenanthrene are the characteristic factors of PAHs in soil samples of 4W. According to these data and the ratios of Fl/Py, PAHs in oily sludge samples come mainly from petrogenic sources, and soil samples are divided into petrogenic soil samples and mixed-source soil samples, and both petrogenic and pyrogenic soil samples in terms of the sources of PAHs. The classification by Nemero index P indicates that soils around the oily sludge dumping sites have been seriously polluted.