title: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Yellow River estuary: Levels, sources and toxic potency assessment.
abstract: This paper presents a systematic but preliminary study on the levels, sources and risk of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the Yellow River estuary by examining 16 priority PAHs listed by the U.S. EPA in four main environmental media (soil, surface water, groundwater and sediment). The concentration of individual PAHs in each medium in the study area was compared with the reported PAH values in China and abroad and to related environmental quality standards. The pollution levels of PAHs were found to be moderate in the soil and sediment, and low in the surface water and groundwater. Wood, coal combustion and petroleum inputs are the main PAH sources in soil and sediment, while petroleum inputs and petroleum combustion are the main PAH sources in surface water and groundwater. This indicates that PAH input caused by the high-speed inflow of external water over a long time has made a definite contribution to the occurrence of PAHs in surface water and groundwater in the study area. Furthermore, the mean value of the sum of the Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk (∑ELCR) exposure to PAHs in all media exceeded the generally acceptable risk level of 1.0E-06 recommended by the USEPA for carcinogenic chemicals, and the relative proportion contributed by DBA to the ∑ELCR was the greatest.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China. Electronic address: lifadong@igsnrr.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Fadong
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D063366:Estuaries; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D006801:Humans; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D045483:Rivers; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Comprehensive surveys; Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk (ELCR); Multiple environments; Residue characteristics; Yellow River Delta (YRD)