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Distribution characteristics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediments and biota from the Zha Long Wetland, China

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Abstract

In this paper, the concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in biota (reed, grass, mussel, fish, and red-crowned crane) and sediments collected from seven locations in the Zha Long Wetland. PAHs were recovered from the sediments and biota by ultrasonic extraction and then analyzed by means of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The total PAH concentrations were 244–713 ng/g dw in sediments, 82.8–415 ng/g dw in plants and 207–4,780 ng/g dw in animals. The total sediment PAH concentrations were categorized as lower to moderate contamination compared with other regions of China and the world. In the plant samples, the accumulation abilities of reed roots and stems for PAHs were higher than those of grass roots. In addition, the concentration of individual PAHs in mussel muscles was the highest in all of the animal samples, followed by fish, feeding crane fetuses, and wild crane fetuses. Compositional analysis suggests that the PAHs in the sediments from the Zha Long Wetland were derived from incomplete biomass combustion. Risk assessment shows that the levels of PAHs in sediments are mostly lower than the effects range mean value (effects range mean), whereas only naphthalene in all sample sites was higher than the effects range low value. It is worthwhile to note that benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene and benzo(ghi)perylene were detected in crane fetal, which have potential carcinogenicity for organisms from the Zha Long Wetland.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Open Project of the State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology (no. ESK201002), and the Research Fund for Innovation Talents of Science and Technology, Harbin Administration of Science & Technology (no. 2011RFXXS076).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Municipal & Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China

    Jinchunzi Li

  2. College of Material Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, 145 Nantong Street, Nangang District, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, 150001, People’s Republic of China

    Guangmin Liu, Lili Yin & Jianliang Xue

  3. International Joint Research Center for Persistent Toxic Substances (IJRC-PTS), State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment (SKLUWRE), Harbin Institute of Technology, 92 Western Straight Street, Nangang District, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, 150001, People’s Republic of China

    Hong Qi & Yifan Li

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  1. Jinchunzi Li
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  2. Guangmin Liu
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  3. Lili Yin
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  4. Jianliang Xue
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Correspondence to Guangmin Liu or Hong Qi.

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Li, J., Liu, G., Yin, L. et al. Distribution characteristics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediments and biota from the Zha Long Wetland, China. Environ Monit Assess 185, 3163–3171 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-012-2780-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-012-2780-0

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