Recebido em 18/2/08; aceito em 20/10/08; publicado na web em 25/3/09This work describes a validation of an analytical procedure for the analysis of petroleum hydrocarbons in marine sediment samples. The proposed protocol is able to measure n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in samples at concentrations as low as 30 ng/g, with a precision better than 15% for most of analytes. The extraction efficiency of fortified sediments varied from 65.1 to 105.6% and 59.7 to 97.8%, for n-alkanes and PAH in the ranges: C 16 -C 32 and fluoranthene -benzo(a)pyrene, respectively. The analytical protocol was applied to determine petroleum hydrocarbons in sediments collected from a marine coastal zone.

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