A Survey of 42 Semi-Volatile Organic Contaminants in Groundwater along the Grand Canal from Hangzhou to Beijing, East China

Xiaojie Li, Zhu Rao, Zhipeng Yang, Xiaochen Guo, Yi Huang, Jing Zhang, Feng Guo and Chen Liu
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Xiaojie Li: National Research Center for Geoanalysis, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037, China
Zhu Rao: National Research Center for Geoanalysis, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037, China
Zhipeng Yang: National Research Center for Geoanalysis, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037, China
Xiaochen Guo: National Research Center for Geoanalysis, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037, China
Yi Huang: National Research Center for Geoanalysis, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037, China
Jing Zhang: National Research Center for Geoanalysis, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037, China
Feng Guo: National Research Center for Geoanalysis, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037, China
Chen Liu: National Research Center for Geoanalysis, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037, China

IJERPH, 2015, vol. 12, issue 12, 1-12

Abstract: The status of organic pollution in groundwater in eastern China along the Grand Canal from Hangzhou to Beijing was evaluated. Forty-two semi-volatile organic contaminants were analyzed, including 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), seven polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 12 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and seven organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs). Among the detected contaminants, PAHs were the most widespread compounds. One PCB and six OCPs were detected in the groundwater samples, but none of the target OPPs was detected. The total concentration of the 16 PAHs ranged from 0.21 to 1006 ng/L, among which phenanthrene (271 ng/L) and fluoranthene (233 ng/L) were present at very high concentrations and naphthalene (32 positive detections in 50 samples) and fluorene (28 detections in 50 samples) were the most frequently detected. Benzo[a]pyrene equivalents indicated a high environmental risk related to PAHs in a few groundwater samples. To identify the possible sources of PAHs, three concentration ratios, low molecular weight PAHs/high molecular weight PAHs, anthracene/(anthracene + phenanthrene) and fluoranthene/(fluoranthene + pyrene), were determined, that indicated that the PAHs mainly originated from mixed sources: pyrolytic and petrogenic sources with different ratios at different sites.

Keywords: trace organic contaminants; groundwater; East China; environmental risk assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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