Aquatic distribution and heterotrophic degradation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) in the Tamar Estuary

Mineralization potentials of aromatic hydrocarbons by estuarine microorganisms: variations with season, location, and bacterioplankton production

“…The trends of phenanthrene degradation in the Hudson River resemble those for naphthalene in the Tamar Estuary, England (Readman et al 1982). The rate of naphthalene degradation reached a maximum of 2 pg 1-1 d-I (75 % d-l) in the urban region of the Tamar Estuary which had a salinity of 25 ppt and declined toward riverine and marine waters.…”

“…The presence of municipal wastewater facilities, harbors, and industry have historically made estuarine waterways sites of accumulation for a wide variety of organic pollutants (Knap et al 1979, Huggett & Bender 1980, Connell 1982, Readman et al 1982, DeLaune et al 1983, Brown et al 1985. Previous work has suggested that microbial degradation can be an important mechanism for the removal of organic contaminants from the aquatic environment (Herbes & Schwa11 1978, Sherril & Sayler 1980, Readman et al 1982, DeLaune et al 1983.…”

“…Previous work has suggested that microbial degradation can be an important mechanism for the removal of organic contaminants from the aquatic environment (Herbes & Schwa11 1978, Sherril & Sayler 1980, Readman et al 1982, DeLaune et al 1983. Although sediment bacteria often play an Present address: South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority, 90 Sargent Drive, New Haven, Connecticut 06511-5966, USA ' ' Addressee for correspondence important role in this process, periods of anoxia along with toxic levels of pollutants in sediments may limit biodegradation (Bauer & Capone 1985a, b).…”

Depositional History of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons: Reconstruction of Petroleum Pollution Record in Peninsular Malaysia

“…Moreover the compounds specific selections for above mentioned processes are absolutely selective. It is now well established that microbial degradation of PAH occurs primarily in the aerobic zone (Bauer and Capone, 1985) with highest rates occurring with low molecular weight homologues (Lee et al, 1977;Gardner et al, 1979;Readman et al, 1982). Consequently, any degradation should result in selective losses of, anthracene relative to benzo[a]pyrene, and so affect the ratio of residual PAH.…”

Dugway Proving Ground: Closure Plan Module 2, for SWMUs 20, 164, 166 and 170

“…In an estuary, volatilization and adsorption to suspended sediments with subsequent deposition are the primary removal processes for medium and high molecular weight PAHs, whereas volatilization and microbial degradation are the major removal processes for low molecular weight compounds (Readman, et al 1982). In an enclosed marine ecosystem study, less than 1% of the original amount of radiolabelled benz(a)anthracene added to the system remained in the water column after 30 days; losses were attributed to adsorption to settling particles and to a lesser extent to photodegradation (Hinga and Pilson 1987).…”