title: Biological risk and pollution history of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Nansha mangrove, South China.
abstract: Chinese government has taken various measures to alleviate pollution caused by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the region of Pearl River Delta since the economic reform in 1978, but the effectiveness of these measures remains largely unknown. This study aimed to elucidate the biological risk and pollution history of PAHs by measuring the concentrations of 28 PAHs in the surface and core sediments, respectively, in Nansha mangrove. Results found that the biological risk of PAHs was low without obvious spatial variation. The PAH concentration along the depth gradient indicated that PAH pollution was stabilized since the early 1990s while the source of PAHs has gradually changed from combustion of coal to petroleum products. This implied that the mitigation measures taken by the Chinese government were effective. Compared to marine bottom sediment, we propose that using mangrove sediment can provide a more accurate and precise estimate of pollution history of PAHs.
authors: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China; Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
authors: Qihang
authors: Q
authors: Wu
authors: Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
authors: Jonathan Y S
authors: JY
authors: Leung
authors: Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
authors: Nora F Y
authors: NF
authors: Tam
authors: State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China. Electronic address: chenshejun@gig.ac.cn.
authors: Shejun
authors: S
authors: Chen
authors: State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.
authors: Bixian
authors: B
authors: Mai
authors: School of Geographical Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
authors: Xizhen
authors: X
authors: Zhou
authors: School of Geographical Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
authors: Lihua
authors: L
authors: Xia
authors: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
authors: Xinhua
authors: X
authors: Geng
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis; D002681:China; D003031:Coal / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D063366:Estuaries; D005843:Geography; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis*; D029561:Lythraceae; D010578:Petroleum / Q000032:analysis; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D062206:Spatial Analysis; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D003031:Coal; D010578:Petroleum; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002244:Carbon
keywords: Biological risk; Economic development; Mangrove; Pollution history; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); Sediment