Heavy metals and polycyclic hydrocarbon compounds in benthic organisms of the Upper Gulf of Thailand

Concentrations of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in bivalves collected in the Upper Gulf of Thailand. PAHs detected included acenaphthene, acenaphthylene, benzo[a]pyrene, fluoranthene, methylphenanthrene, phenanthrene and triphenylene. Benzo[a]pyrene was detected in all species at concentrations varying from 1.0 to 8.2 ng·g^?1. Concentrations of cadmium, cobalt, copper, lead and nickel were significantly lower in bivalves from the Gulf than in green mussels collected from the mouth of the Chao Phraya River. No correlation was found between metal concentrations in animals and sediment, with the exception of copper. Copper concentrations in polychaetes and clams appeared to correlate with the copper:iron ratio of sediments. High rates of degradation were observed when radiolabelled chlorobenzene, phenanthrene and chrysene were added to water and sediment of the Chao Phraya River. Rates were lower in the waters and sediment of the Gulf of Thailand. The calculated half-lives of chlorobenzene in the Gulf of Thailand and the Chao Phraya River were about 130 and 68 days, respectively.