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Release rates of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons from natural sediments and their relationship to solubility and octanol-water partitioning

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Abstract

Sediment efflux rates of six polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined employing a novel boundary-layer flux chamber which concentrates trace organics using solid phase extraction techniques. Sediment cores were collected from the Elizabeth River, Virginia and were monitored over a 48 h period for PAH fluxes into uncontaminated seawater. The observed flux rates were related to solubility and octanol-water partition coefficients (KOW) of the PAHs. Flux rates for the six PAHs varied from 0.028 to 0.646 μg/L/d on a concentration basis and 43.0 to 1,000 μg/m2/d on an areal basis. The resulting flux rate coefficients (k2) were determined to be well correlated to solubility (R2=0.82) and inversely related to KOW (R2=0.75). The empirically determined sediment flux dynamics fit well with theoretical relationships that have been previously established for bioconcentration kinetics and octanol/water partitioning systems. Thus, it appears possible to predict flux rates of other hydrophobic organic chemicals from ambient sediment and water concentrations, KOW information, and the proposed empirical models.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Applied Marine Research Laboratory, Old Dominion University, 23529, Norfolk, Virginia, USA

    M. F. Helmstetter & R. W. Alden III

  2. Brevard Teaching & Research Labs, 250 Grassland Rd., SE, 32909, Palm Bay, FL

    M. F. Helmstetter

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  1. M. F. Helmstetter
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  2. R. W. Alden III
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Helmstetter, M.F., Alden, R.W. Release rates of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons from natural sediments and their relationship to solubility and octanol-water partitioning. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 26, 282–291 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00203553

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