Characteristics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in agricultural soils at a typical coke production base in Shanxi, China

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Soil Around Coal-Fired Power Plants in Shandong, China

“…Some of the major compounds identified in the coke production base and fuel station were consistent with the results obtained for the two power plants [29,36]. In soils around an e-waste recycling area, the most abundant PAHs were NAP, PHE, and FLU [30].…”

“…The PAH concentrations in this study were lower than those around other coal-fired power plants, such as those in India (2538.24 μg/kg) [13], South Africa (9,730-61,240 μg/kg) [2] and Huainan (2,830-5,320 μg/kg) [25]. The PAH concentrations in the coking areas in Shanxi Province in China (171.67-3,176.79 μg/kg) and a coking plant in France (1,355.78 μg/kg) were comparable to those in this Compounds LG study [26][27], but they were higher than those in soils from the coal production area in Anhui Province (840 μg/kg) [28], Xinzhou (n.d.-782 μg/kg) [18] and Shanxi (247-1,410 μg/kg) [29] in China. Furthermore, the PAH concentrations in this study were higher than those in most e-waste recycling sites in Guangdong (1,230 μg/kg) and Taizhou (262.6-3,420.2 μg/kg; 330-790 μg/kg) in China [30][31][32].…”

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Soil – Practical Options for Remediation

“…Forest fires are a source of PAHs and have caused the presence of PAHs on earth since millions of years . However, PAHs are also a product of modern (incomplete) combustion processes, such as in vehicles, airplanes, charcoal burning, coke production, and other industrial processes . Strongly increasing industrial activities, increasing traffic and also more intense agriculture have led to a significant buildup of PAH concentrations in the global environment.…”

“…high levels of PAHs are found and agricultural products are being contaminated. Duan et al reported that ca. 60% of the soil samples in the Chinese province Shanxi is heavily contaminated with PAH levels of >0.6 mg/kg (sum of 21 PAHs).…”

Variations in the bioavailability of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in industrial and agricultural soils after bioremediation

“…Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a priority group of environmental contaminants that pose a threat to human health and ecological security owing to their toxic, carcinogenic, and mutagenic properties (Haritash and Kaushik, 2009). PAHs are found at high levels in the soils of industrial sites worldwide (Barnier et al, 2014), but some agricultural soils are also contaminated with PAHs, resulting in threats to food safety and human health in the contaminated areas (Li et al, 2008;Duan et al, 2015). In 2006, Xu et al estimated that approximately 25000 tons of total PAHs (PAH, in this case the sum of the 16 PAHs listed by the U.S. EPA as priority pollutants) were generated annually in China, with the burning of biomass and coal, and the coking industry contributing more than 90% of the total emissions.…”