title: Sources, trends and ecotoxicological risks of PAH pollution in surface sediments from the northern Adriatic Sea (Croatia).
abstract: In this study, the levels, sources and historical trends (2007-2012) of PAH pollution in surface sediments in the northern Adriatic Sea (Croatia) have been assessed. In addition, ecotoxicological risks have been estimated by evaluating the PAH dataset against Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQGs). The results indicate that PAH in surface sediments are of pyrolitic origin with no clear positive or negative trend in PAH concentration over the investigated period. Evaluations against SQG and mSQGq indicate that surface sediments at all sampling sites have a low to medium ecotoxicological risk. In order to improve trend analysis and characterization of PAH pollution in surface sediments in this region an increase in spatial resolution of sampling points is recommended.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Medicine, Medical Faculty, University of Rijeka, Braće Branchetta 20a, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia; Teaching Institute of Public Health of the Primorsko-goranska County, Krešimirova 52a, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia. Electronic address: lukatraven@medri.uniri.hr.
authors.forename: Luka
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Traven
mesh_terms: D017523:Croatia; D054750:Ecotoxicology; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Ecotoxicological risks; Historical trends; PAHs; Pollution; Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQGs); Surface sediments