Interannual Survey on Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Seawater of North Nanao Bay, Ishikawa, Japan, from 2015 to 2018: Sources, Pathways and Ecological Risk Assessment

Rodrigo Mundo, Tetsuya Matsunaka, Hisanori Iwai, Shouzo Ogiso, Nobuo Suzuki, Ning Tang, Kazuichi Hayakawa and Seiya Nagao
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Rodrigo Mundo: Division of Material Chemistry, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-1192, Japan
Tetsuya Matsunaka: Division of Material Chemistry, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-1192, Japan
Hisanori Iwai: Low Level Radioactivity Laboratory, Institute of Nature and Environmental Technology, Kanazawa University, Nomi 923-1224, Japan
Shouzo Ogiso: Noto Marine Laboratory, Institute of Nature and Environmental Technology, Kanazawa University, Noto-cho 927-0553, Japan
Nobuo Suzuki: Noto Marine Laboratory, Institute of Nature and Environmental Technology, Kanazawa University, Noto-cho 927-0553, Japan
Ning Tang: Institute of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Science, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-1192, Japan
Kazuichi Hayakawa: Low Level Radioactivity Laboratory, Institute of Nature and Environmental Technology, Kanazawa University, Nomi 923-1224, Japan
Seiya Nagao: Division of Material Chemistry, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-1192, Japan

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 3, 1-15

Abstract: To improve the understanding of the emission sources and pathways of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the coastal environments of remote areas, their particulate and dissolved concentrations were analyzed on a monthly basis from 2015 to 2018 in surface waters of Nanao Bay, Japan. The concentration of the targeted 13 species of PAHs on the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) priority pollutant list in dissolved and particle phases were separately analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to a fluorescence detector. Particulate and dissolved PAHs had average concentrations of 0.72 ng?L −1 and 0.95 ng?L −1 , respectively. While most of the samples were lower than 1 ng?L −1 , abnormally high levels up to 10 ng?L −1 were observed in the winter of 2017–2018 for particulate PAHs. Based on the isomer ratios of Flu to Flu plus Pyr, it was possible to determine that the pyrogenic loads were greater than the petrogenic loads in all but four out of 86 samples. The predominant environmental pathway for PAHs in winter was determined to be long-range atmospheric transportation fed by the East Asian winter monsoon, while for the summer, local sources were more relevant. By the risk quotients method, it was determined that PAHs in surface seawater presented a very low risk to marine life during the interannual survey.

Keywords: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; seawater; environmental organic pollutants; source identification; propagation pathways; ecological risk assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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