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Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the upstream rivers of Taihu Lake Basin, China: spatial distribution, sources and environmental risk

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Abstract

The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) pollution in Taihu Lake Basin has caused widespread concern. However, the spatial temporal distribution of PAHs in the upstream rivers of Taihu Lake Basin remains largely unknown. Thus, this study aims to investigate the level, spatial distribution, sources, and environment risk caused by PAHs in upstream rivers of Taihu Lake Basin. The concentrations of total 16 PAHs (∑16PAHs) ranged from 188.64 to 1060.39 ng/g, with an average of 472.62 ng/g. High-molecular-weight (HMW) PAHs were the predominant compounds in most sample sites. The results of source analysis demonstrated that the PAH pollution was mainly sourced from mixture of combustion and direct petroleum spillage. The ecological risk assessment showed that moderate ecological risk caused by the PAH contaminants might occur in most sample sites. The incremental lifetime cancer risks (ILCRs) ranged from 2.07 ×10−4 − 2.66 × 10−3 for children and 9.66 ×10−5 − 1.24 × 10−3 for adult, indicating moderate cancer risk of PAH-contaminated sediments.

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Funding

This research was funded by Provincial Special Fund for Water Pollution Control in Lake Taihu (TH2018404). This work was supported by Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Environmental Science and Jiangsu Environmental Engineering Technology Co. LTD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Environmental Science, Nanjing, 210036, China

    Lingling Wang, Xiaoming Ren, Xiaoping Wang, Perran Ye, Fei Wang, Jiade Cheng, Yan Chen, Ang Yu, Limin Zhang & Yang Qiu

  2. Jiangsu Environmental Engineering Technology Co. LTD, Nanjing, 210036, China

    Lingling Wang, Xiaoping Wang, Perran Ye, Fei Wang, Jiade Cheng, Yan Chen, Ang Yu & Limin Zhang

Authors
  1. Lingling Wang
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  2. Xiaoming Ren
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  3. Xiaoping Wang
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  5. Fei Wang
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  6. Jiade Cheng
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  7. Yan Chen
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  8. Ang Yu
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  9. Limin Zhang
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  10. Yang Qiu
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Contributions

Lingling Wang was responsible for data analysis and manuscript writing; Xiaoming Ren was responsible for the design of research methods; Xiaoping Wang was responsible for Instrument calibration; Perran Ye, Fei Wang, Jiade Cheng, and Yan Chen all participated in the sampling work; Limin Zhang and Ang Yu took charge of the sample analysis; Yang Qiu took charge of review and editing.

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Correspondence to Yang Qiu.

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Wang, L., Ren, X., Wang, X. et al. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the upstream rivers of Taihu Lake Basin, China: spatial distribution, sources and environmental risk. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 23690–23699 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-17598-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-17598-w

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