title: PAH contamination of western Irish Sea sediments.
abstract: Concentrations of the sum of 15 PAHs in 22 surficial sediment samples from the western Irish Sea ranged from below 100 ng g(-1) in sandy sediments to a maximum of 1422 ng g(-1) in the centre of the mud basin. The concentrations are typical of coastal shelf sediments, but greater than those observed for aquatic sediments remote from known anthropogenic sources. Organic C and the % sediment <15 microm were positively correlated with sigmaPAH. sigmaPAH was normalised to organic C and particle size (i.e. expressed as sigmaPAH/C(org) and sigmaPAH/% < 15 microm) and significant relationships were still observed with organic C and % < 15 microm. The results are discussed in the context of using organic C to normalise concentrations of PAHs to assess contamination levels in sediments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agriculture and Environmental Science, The Queens University of Belfast, Newforge Lane, Belfast BR9 5PX, Northern Ireland, UK. m.charlesworth@qub.ac.uk
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Charlesworth
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Service
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Gibson
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D009660:Northern Ireland; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical