title: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water from three estuaries of China: Distribution, seasonal variations and ecological risk assessment.
abstract: The distribution, seasonal variations and ecological risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water from three estuaries in Hai River Basin of China, which has been suffering from different anthropogenic pressures, were investigated. In three estuaries, the average concentration of ΣPAHs was the lowest in Luan River estuary, followed by Hai River estuary, and the highest in Zhangweixin River estuary. There were significant seasonal variations in ΣPAHs, the concentrations of ΣPAHs were higher in November than in May and August. The composition profiles of PAHs in different sites were significantly different, and illustrated seasonal variations. Generally, 2-ring (Nap) and 3-ring PAHs (Acp, Fl and Phe) were the most abundant components at most sampling sites in three estuaries. The PAHs in three estuaries were mainly originated from pyrogenic sources. A method based on toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) and risk quotient (RQ) was proposed to assess the ecological risk of ΣPAHs, with the ecological risk of individual PAHs being considered separately. The results showed that the ecological risks caused by ΣPAHs were high in Hai River estuary and Zhangweixin River estuary, and moderate in Luan River estuary. The mean values of ecological risk in August were lower than those in November. The contributions of individual PAHs to ecological risk were different in May, August and November. 3-ring and 4-ring PAHs accounted for much more ecological risk than 2-ring, 5-ring and 6-ring, although the contributions of 5-ring and 6-ring to ecological risk were higher than these to PAHs concentrations.
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control and School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, 100875 Beijing, China; School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power, 450011 Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jinxia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control and School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, 100875 Beijing, China. Electronic address: jingling@bnu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jingling
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control and School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, 100875 Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control and School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, 100875 Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoguang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: You
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control and School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, 100875 Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zhiguo
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cao
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D063366:Estuaries; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D018570:Risk Assessment; D045483:Rivers; D012621:Seasons; D014867:Water; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
chemical_list: D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D014867:Water
keywords: Composition profile; Distribution; Ecological risk assessment; Estuary; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Seasonal variations