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Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in surface sediment of typical estuaries and the spatial distribution in Haihe river basin

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Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with carcinogenic and mutagenic characteristics have been detected in many estuaries and bays around the world. To detect the contaminated level in typical estuaries in Haihe river basin, China, a comprehensive survey of 16 PAHs in surface sediment has been conducted and an ecological risk assessment has been taken. It showed that Haihe river estuary had the highest concentration, ranging from 92.91 to 15886.00 ng g−1. And Luan river estuary has the lowest polluted level, ranging from 39.55 to 328.10 ng g−1. PAHs in sediment were dominated by low and mid molecular weight PAHs in all the sampling sites. Most of the sampling sites in all sampling seasons indicated a rarely happened ecological risk of ΣPAHs, while the S6 in Haihe river estuary was in an occasionally anticipated risk. To illustrate the spatial distribution pattern of PAHs in surface sediment in Haihe river basin, the results were compared with previous research of the research team. Based on data of the comparison, it had been revealed that Haihe river had the most serious PAHs pollution, with an average concentration of 5884.86 ng g−1, and showed the highest contamination level in all four ecological units. The ΣPAHs concentration showed in a rank of reservoir > estuary > rural area > city.

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Acknowledgments

The present study was supported by the National Water Pollution Control Important Specialized Science and Technology of China (No. 2012ZX07203-006) as well as the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41271496). We want to thank Y. Yang, T. Yang, XG. You, Y. Li, and BB. Wang for field sampling.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control and School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Jing L. Liu, Jing Zhang, Feng Liu & Lu L. Zhang

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  1. Jing L. Liu
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  2. Jing Zhang
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  3. Feng Liu
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  4. Lu L. Zhang
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Correspondence to Jing L. Liu.

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Liu, J.L., Zhang, J., Liu, F. et al. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in surface sediment of typical estuaries and the spatial distribution in Haihe river basin. Ecotoxicology 23, 486–494 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-014-1233-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-014-1233-7

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