Distribution and sources of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the sediments of the Pearl River estuary, China

Abstract

The Pearl River delta, one of the most prosperous economically region in China, has experienced significant contaminant inputs. However, the dynamics of pollutants in the Pearl River estuary and the adjacent coastal areas are still unclear at present. In the paper, distribution and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated in the surface sediments of the Pearl River estuary. The total PAHs concentrations ranged from 126.08 to 3828.58 ng/g with a mean value of 563.52 ng/g, whereas the highest PAHs were observed in Guangzhou channel. Among the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 16 priority PAHs, PAHs with 3-4 rings exhibited relative higher levels. A positive relationship was found between PAHs and total organic carbon. The source analysis further showed that the major sources of PAHs in the Pearl River estuary were originated from the pyrolytic inputs, reflecting a mixed energy structure such as wood, coal and petroleum combustion. In summary, although PAHs in Lingding Bay and the adjacent coastal areas of the Pearl River estuary exhibited a relatively low pollution level, the relatively high pollution level of PAHs in Guangzhou channel will be attended.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) accumulation in different common sole (Solea solea) tissues from the North Adriatic Sea peculiar impacted area

“…PAHs derive mainly from anthropogenic activities, including the combustion of organic matter, oil, wood, fossil fuels, and the release of hydrocarbons by crude oil (Neff et al, 2005;Stogiannidis and Laane, 2015;Barhoumi et al, 2016). Natural inputs into the environment are ascribable to volcanism, forest fires and petroleum seeps, but represent a small contribution to the overall PAH concentration in the environment (Baumard et al, 1999;Lima et al, 2003;Zhang et al, 2015). Due to their lipophilicity, low solubility in water and high persistence, PAHs naturally tend to be adsorbed in suspended matter, and then result in relatively rapid deposition in marine sediments (Cheung et al, 2007;Koelmans et al, 2010;Cui et al, 2016).…”

Assessment and Implication of PAHs and Compound-Specific δ13C Compositions in a Dated Marine Sediment Core from Daya Bay, China

“…However, they are less than those in Dapeng Bay [42], in Shenzhen nearshore [43] (Tang et al, 2017s), and in the middle area of the South China Sea [53]. Therefore, the PAHs' contamination in our study was at a lower medium level in Daya Bay [41,42,46,54]. The LPAHs with 2-3 benzene rings are mainly some volatile aromatic hydrocarbons (naphthalene, fluorene, phenanthrene, and anthracene), which are toxic to aquatic organisms.…”

Spatiotemporal variability of hydrocarbons in surface sediments from an intensively human-impacted Xiaoqing River-Laizhou Bay system in the eastern China: Occurrence, compositional profile and source apportionment

“…The concentrations of PAHs were 970 to 32,000, 70 to 51,000 and 100 to 10,000 ng/gdw for the X, Lsp and Lsu samples, respectively (Table 1), without significant differences among each group. These ranges were larger than most typical estuaries in China, such as the Yellow River Delta (3590 to 27,100 ng/gdw; Wang et al, 2011), Yangtze River Estuary (27 to 622 ng/gdw; Wang et al, 2016), and Pearl River Estuary (126 to 3829 ng/gdw; Zhang et al, 2015), suggesting generally higher anthropogenic inputs in Xiaoqing River and Laizhou Bay system. Based on the pollution levels defined by Baumard et al (1998), most of the stations were characterized by moderate to extensively high pollution levels, with the most severe cases at stations ×1 and L1sp.…”