title: Spatial distribution and potential toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediments from Liaohe River Basin, China.
abstract: The distribution and potential toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the sediments of Liaohe River Basin were investigated in this study. Total concentrations of 16 PAHs (∑PAH16) ranged from 82.5 to 25374.4 μg/kg averaging 3149.2 μg/kg. Three predominant PAHs were fluoranthene, phenanthrene, and pyrene. In Liao River, two-to-three-ring PAHs were dominant taking up 67.2-92.5% of ∑PAH16, whereas sediments in Daliao River system mainly contained four-to-six-ring PAHs ranging from 47.8 to 83.7%. Both petrogenic and pyrogenic sources contributed to the PAH pollution based on diagnostic ratios. The empirical and mechanistic sediment quality guidelines were used to estimate the toxicity risk of PAHs to benthic organisms. The ∑PAH16 in all sediments were significantly lower than probable effect concentrations (PEC), while ∑PAH16 at nine sites of the Daliao River system were between threshold effect concentrations (TEC) and PEC, suggesting that adverse effects were possible at the nine sites. The only individual PAH was acenaphthene whose concentrations were above PEC at some sites, indicating its potential toxicity. Based upon equilibrium partitioning theory and narcosis model, the obtained toxic units for PAH mixtures at all sites were far less than one, implying that the levels of PAH mixtures were acceptable for the protection of benthic fauna. The two evaluation methods lead to the consistent results that benthic organisms inhabiting in the sediments of Liaohe River Basin have no or low risk of adverse effects resulting from exposure to PAHs.
authors.affiliation: College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100012, China.|State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China. mengwei@craes.org.cn.|Laboratory of Riverine Ecological Conservation and Technology, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China. mengwei@craes.org.cn.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China.|Laboratory of Riverine Ecological Conservation and Technology, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China.|Laboratory of Riverine Ecological Conservation and Technology, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China.|Laboratory of Riverine Ecological Conservation and Technology, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China.
authors.forename: Changsheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry; D010616:Phenanthrenes; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis; D011721:Pyrenes; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D010616:Phenanthrenes; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D011721:Pyrenes; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C031181:phenanthrene; C030984:pyrene
keywords: Liaohe River Basin; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Sediment Quality Guidelines; Sediments; Toxicity