Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Occurrence and Fluxes of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Third Largest Fresh Water Lake (Lake Taihu) in China

  • Concept Note
  • Published:
Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) pose great risks to lake ecosystem and human health. Comprehensive knowledge on PAHs in lakes is critical for their risk control. 118 samples were collected from different environmental medium to study the occurrence and fluxes of 16 PAH in Lake Taihu. The average ∑PAH16 in air, water, phytoplankton, zooplankton, suspended particle matter, and surface sediments were 122 ng m−3, 61.3 ng L−1, 6500 ng g−1, 4940 ng g−1, 27,900 ng g−1, and 522 ng g−1, respectively. Sediments were contaminated by PAHs from pyrogenic sources. The average fluxes of air–water, dry deposition, and sinking of the 16 individual PAHs were 2900, 300, and 251 ng m−2 d−1. In the air–water column-surface sediments system, air–water exchange was the main transport pathway. In order to ensure safety of drinking water resources for local residence, the governments are suggested to work together to reduce PAHs emission and implement new energy policy.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bidleman TF, McConnell LL (1995) A review of field experiments to determine air–water gas exchange of persistent organic pollutants. Sci Total Environ 159:101–117

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cardoso FD, Dauner ALL, Martins CC (2016) A critical and comparative appraisal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediments and suspended particulate material from a large South American subtropical estuary. Environ Pollut 214:219–229

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Catallo WJ, Schlenker M, Gambrell RP, Shane BS (1995) Toxic chemicals and trace metals from urban and rural Louisiana Lakes: recent historical profiles and toxicological significance. Environ Sci Technol 29:1436–1445

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dachs J, Eisenreich SJ, Hoff RM (2000) Influence of eutrophication on air-water exchange, vertical fluxes, and phytoplankton concentrations of persistent organic pollutants. Environ Sci Technol 34:1095–1102

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Du J, Jing C (2018) Anthropogenic PAHs in lake sediments: a literature review (2002–2018). Environ Sci-Process Impacts 20:1649–1666

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Guo G, Wu F, He H, Zhang R, Feng C, Li H, Chang M (2012) Characterizing ecological risk for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water from Lake Taihu, China. Environ Monit Assess 184:6815–6825

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang L, Batterman SA (2014) Multimedia model for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and nitro-PAHs in Lake Michigan. Environ Sci Technol 48:13817–13825

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kannan K, Johnson-Restrepo B, Yohn SS, Giesy JP, Long DT (2005) Spatial and temporal distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediments from Michigan inland lakes. Environ Sci Technol 39:4700–4706

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kuo Y-M, Lin T-C, Tsai P-J, Lee W-J, Lin H-Y (2003) Fate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons during vitrification of incinerator ash in a coke bed furnace. Chemosphere 51:313–319

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li Y et al (2019) Determination of influencing factors on historical concentration variations of PAHs in West Taihu Lake, China. Environ Pollut 249:573–580

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lin T, Hu LM, Guo ZG, Zhang G, Yang ZS (2013) Deposition fluxes and fate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Yangtze River estuarine-inner shelf in the East China Sea. Global Biogeochem Cycles 27:77–87

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu Y et al (2017) Sources and spatial distribution of particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Shanghai, China. Sci Total Environ 584:307–317

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDonough CA, Khairy MA, Muir DCG, Lohmann R (2014) Significance of population centers as sources of gaseous and dissolved PAHs in the Lower Great Lakes. Environ Sci Technol 48:7789–7797

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Morales L et al (2015) Oceanic sink and biogeochemical controls on the accumulation of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans, and biphenyls in plankton. Environ Sci Technol 49:13853–13861

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nizzetto L et al (2012) Biological pump control of the fate and distribution of hydrophobic organic pollutants in water and plankton. Environ Sci Technol 46:3204–3211

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Okere UV (2012) Biodegradation of PAHs in Pristine soils from different climatic regions. J Bioremed Biodegrad S1:6

    Google Scholar 

  • Olivella MÀ (2006) Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in rainwater and surface waters of Lake Maggiore, a subalpine lake in Northern Italy. Chemosphere 63:116–131

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Qin B et al (2013a) Lake eutrophication and its ecosystem response. Chin Sci Bull 58:961–970

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Qin N et al (2013b) Atmospheric partitioning and the air-water exchange of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in a large shallow Chinese lake (Lake Chaohu). Chemosphere 93:1685–1693

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Qiu X, Zhu T, Wang F, Hu J (2008) Air-water gas exchange of organochlorine pesticides in Taihu Lake, China. Environ Sci Technol 42:1928–1932

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ravindra K, Sokhi R, Van Grieken R (2008) Atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: source attribution, emission factors and regulation. Atmos Environ 42:2895–2921

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shen H et al (2013) Global atmospheric emissions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from 1960 to 2008 and future predictions. Environ Sci Technol 47:6415–6424

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simcik MF, Eisenreich SJ, Lioy PJ (1999) Source apportionment and source/sink relationships of PAHs in the coastal atmosphere of Chicago and Lake Michigan. Atmos Environ 33:5071–5079

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tao Y, Liu D (2019) Trophic status affects the distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the water columns, surface sediments, and plankton of twenty Chinese lakes. Environ Pollut 252:666–674

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tao Y, Yu J, Lei G, Xue B, Zhang F, Yao S (2017) Indirect influence of eutrophication on air–water exchange fluxes, sinking fluxes, and occurrence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Water Res 122:512–525

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vardar N, Tasdemir Y, Odabasi M, Noll KE (2004) Characterization of atmospheric concentrations and partitioning of PAHs in the Chicago atmosphere. Sci Total Environ 327:163–174

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang QG, Gu G, Higano Y (2006) Toward integrated environmental management for challenges in water environmental protection of Lake Taihu Basin in China. Environ Manage 37:579–588

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y-W, Zhao J, Li J-H, Li S-S, Zhang L-H, Wu M (2011) Effects of calcium levels on colonial aggregation and buoyancy of Microcystis aeruginosa. Curr Microbiol 62:679–683

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang X, Sun M, Xie M, Liu M, Luo L, Li P, Kong F (2013) Differences in microcystin production and genotype composition among Microcystis colonies of different sizes in Lake Taihu. Water Res 47:5659–5669

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang D et al (2018) Ecological and health risk assessment of PAHs, OCPs, and PCBs in Taihu Lake basin. Ecol Indic 92:171–180

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wu X, Kong F (2009) Effects of light and wind speed on the vertical distribution of Microcystis aeruginosa colonies of different sizes during a summer bloom. Int Rev Hydrobiol 94:258–266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu X et al (2016) Ecological risk assessment of ecosystem services in the Taihu Lake Basin of China from 1985 to 2020. Sci Total Environ 554:7–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yunker MB, Macdonald RW, Vingarzan R, Mitchell RH, Goyette D, Sylvestre S (2002) PAHs in the Fraser River basin: a critical appraisal of PAH ratios as indicators of PAH source and composition. Org Geochem 33:489–515

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zeng Q, Jeppesen E, Gu X, Mao Z, Chen H (2018) Distribution, fate and risk assessment of PAHs in water and sediments from an aquaculture-and shipping-impacted subtropical lake, China. Chemosphere 201:612–620

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Y, Lu Y, Xu J, Yu T, Zhao W (2011) Spatial distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from Lake Taihu, China. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 87:80–85

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Y, Guo C-S, Xu J, Tian Y-Z, Shi G-L, Feng Y-C (2012) Potential source contributions and risk assessment of PAHs in sediments from Taihu Lake, China: comparison of three receptor models. Water Res 46:3065–3073

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang W, Gao Y, Yi N, Wang C, Di P, Yan S (2017) Variations in abundance and community composition of denitrifying bacteria during a cyanobacterial bloom in a eutrophic shallow lake in China. J Freshw Ecol 32:467–476

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao ZH, Zhang L, Deng JM, Wu JL (2015) The potential effects of phytoplankton on the occurrence of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water from Lake Taihu, China. Environ Sci-Process Impacts 17:1150–1156

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao Z, Jiang Y, Li Q, Cai Y, Yin H, Zhang L, Zhang J (2017) Spatial correlation analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in sediments between Taihu Lake and its tributary rivers. Ecotox Environ Safe 142:117–128

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhi H, Zhao Z, Zhang L (2015) The fate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in water from Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake in China. Chemosphere 119:1134–1140

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was funded by Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41977330), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. BK20170049), The Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (B200201046), and National Basic Technological Research of China (Grant No. 2015FY110900).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Zifan Wu & Yuqiang Tao

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Zifan Wu

  3. College of Oceanography, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China

    Yuqiang Tao

Authors
  1. Zifan Wu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yuqiang Tao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yuqiang Tao.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wu, Z., Tao, Y. Occurrence and Fluxes of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Third Largest Fresh Water Lake (Lake Taihu) in China. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 106, 190–197 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-020-02847-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-020-02847-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation