Source Identification, Toxicity, and Persistence of PAHs in Sediment Core from a Natural Protected Area in Mexico

Jose Emilio Queb-Suarez, Alejandro Ruiz-Marin (), Yunuen Canedo-Lopez, Claudia Alejandra Aguilar-Ucan, Carlos Montalvo-Romero, Juan Gabriel Flores-Trujillo and Nancy Perez-Morga
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Jose Emilio Queb-Suarez: Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma del Carmen, Calle 56. No. 4. Av. Concordia, Col. Benito Juárez, Ciudad del Carmen C.P. 24180, Campeche, Mexico
Alejandro Ruiz-Marin: Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma del Carmen, Calle 56. No. 4. Av. Concordia, Col. Benito Juárez, Ciudad del Carmen C.P. 24180, Campeche, Mexico
Yunuen Canedo-Lopez: Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma del Carmen, Calle 56. No. 4. Av. Concordia, Col. Benito Juárez, Ciudad del Carmen C.P. 24180, Campeche, Mexico
Claudia Alejandra Aguilar-Ucan: Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma del Carmen, Calle 56. No. 4. Av. Concordia, Col. Benito Juárez, Ciudad del Carmen C.P. 24180, Campeche, Mexico
Carlos Montalvo-Romero: Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma del Carmen, Calle 56. No. 4. Av. Concordia, Col. Benito Juárez, Ciudad del Carmen C.P. 24180, Campeche, Mexico
Juan Gabriel Flores-Trujillo: Department of Geophysical Engineering, Facultad de Ingenieria, Universidad Autónoma del Carmen, Ciudad del Carmen C.P. 24180, Campeche, Mexico
Nancy Perez-Morga: Department of Geophysical Engineering, Facultad de Ingenieria, Universidad Autónoma del Carmen, Ciudad del Carmen C.P. 24180, Campeche, Mexico

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 19, 1-13

Abstract: Sediment cores maintain a historical record of the various sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In 2020, one sediment core was collected within the oyster farming area of the Pom–Atasta lagoon system and the Terminos lagoon. A total of 16 PAH compounds were analyzed to identify the historical patterns of PAH inputs and the relationship with sediment materials. The core was classified into three strata at depths of 0.0–0.2 m, 0.2–0.6 m, and 0.6–1.1 m, in which the high content of silt–sand, organic matter, and carbonates indicates a system of high energy and productivity. The hydrology and characteristics of the sediment suggest a free access of adsorbed PAHs to the study area, mainly of pyrolytic origin. The concentration of ∑PAHs decreases from the surface (527.0 ng g −1 dw) to a greater depth (75.7 ng g −1 dw), which corresponds to 60% of the HMW (high molecular weight) of the total PAHs as combustion products at low temperatures, while LWM-PAH (low molecular weight) inputs are from discharges of petroleum products. The core sediments showed a low probability of toxicity quotient of 9%. The analysis of the carcinogenic toxic equivalent (TEQ carc ) in each section of the core was variable, decreasing with the depth from 107.91 ng TEQ g −1 dw to 57.65 ng TEQ g −1 dw, with the compounds benzo(a)pyrene (53.55 ng TEQ g −1 dw) and dibenzo(a,h) anthracene (29.2 ng TEQ carc g −1 dw) having the highest TEQ carc . The anthropogenic activities around the study area may increase the carcinogenic and mutagenic risk to human health. However, in the present study, the low toxic carcinogenic equivalents (TEQ BaP ) and mutagenic equivalents (MEQ BaP ) indicate a low probability of sediment toxicity. The ecosystem could be under constant threat from increasing anthropogenic activity; therefore, monitoring programs for the conservation of these ecosystems and oyster farms should be considered.

Keywords: sediment cores; Terminos lagoon; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; source and sediment quality; toxic equivalent quotient (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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