Occurrence and Risk Assessment of PAHs in Surface Sediments from Western Arctic and Subarctic Oceans

Fajin Chen, Yan Lin, Minggang Cai, Jingjing Zhang, Yuanbiao Zhang, Weiming Kuang, Lin Liu, Peng Huang and Hongwei Ke
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Fajin Chen: Guangdong Province Key Laboratory for Coastal Ocean Variation and Disaster Prediction, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China
Yan Lin: Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory for Coastal Ecology and Environmental Studies, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
Minggang Cai: Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory for Coastal Ecology and Environmental Studies, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
Jingjing Zhang: College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361002, China
Yuanbiao Zhang: Third Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Xiamen 361005, China
Weiming Kuang: Third Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Xiamen 361005, China
Lin Liu: College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361002, China
Peng Huang: Guangdong Province Key Laboratory for Coastal Ocean Variation and Disaster Prediction, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China
Hongwei Ke: College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361002, China

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 4, 1-14

Abstract: In the fourth Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition (from July to September, 2010), 14 surface sediment samples were collected from the Bering Sea, Chukchi Sea, and Canadian Basin to examine the spatial distributions, potential sources, as well as ecological and health risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The ∑PAH (refers to the sum of 16 priority PAHs) concentration range from 27.66 ng/g to 167.48 ng/g (dry weight, d.w.). Additionally, the concentrations of ∑PAH were highest in the margin edges of the Canadian Basin, which may originate from coal combustion with an accumulation of Canadian point sources and river runoff due to the surface ocean currents. The lowest levels occurred in the northern of Canadian Basin, and the levels of ∑PAH in the Chukchi Sea were slightly higher than those in the Being Sea. Three isomer ratios of PAHs (Phenanthrene/Anthracene, BaA/(BaA+Chy), and LMW/HMW) were used to investigate the potential sources of PAHs, which showed the main source of combustion combined with weaker petroleum contribution. Compared with four sediment quality guidelines, the concentrations of PAH are much lower, indicating a low potential ecological risk. All TEQ PAH also showed a low risk to human health. Our study revealed the important role of the ocean current on the redistribution of PAHs in the Arctic.

Keywords: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); sediments; Bering Sea; Chukchi Sea; Canadian Basin; source apportionment; ecological and health risk assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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