Distribution, fate and risk assessment of PAHs in water and sediments from an aquaculture- and shipping-impacted subtropical lake, China
Graphical abstract
Introduction
The increasing organic pollution of the aquatic environment with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in recent decades is subject of great concern. These compounds, generated from natural and anthropogenic activities, are transported to receiving waters through atmospheric dry and wet deposition (Alves et al., 2016; Franco et al., 2017), surface runoff (Heintzman et al., 2015), industrial wastewater (Kwon and Choi, 2014; Duodu et al., 2017) and sanitary sewage (Tongo et al., 2017), and they may have a negative impact on the water quality. PAHs are characterized by persistence, toxicity, long-range environmental transport ability as well as a propensity to accumulate in plant and animal tissues (Kim et al., 2013). Owing to their mutagenic and carcinogenic nature, sixteen PAHs are considered as priority pollutants by United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA). To date, the growing public and environmental health concerns regarding PAHs in the environment have led many countries to implement various programs and regulations to monitor, control, or restrict their release into the environment.
Due to their low solubility and high hydrophobic-lipophilic characteristics, PAHs in water can be a) dissolved in water; b) adsorbed on suspended solids; c) deposited in the sediment (Liu et al., 2016). Low molecular weight PAHs (LMW), which are usually dominant in water, are considered acutely toxic to aquatic organisms, and the carcinogenicity of PAHs increases with increasing molecular weight (Kim et al., 2013). High molecular weight PAHs (HMW) that predominate in sediments have been linked with liver neoplasm and other abnormalities in bottom-dwelling fish (Tiwari et al., 2017). Moreover, humans can be directly or indirectly exposed to PAHs in aquatic ecosystems via dermal contact of sediment and ingestion of aquatic food. For these reasons, investigation into PAHs pollution of water and sediment pollution and human health risk assessment are required. Industrial complexes such as petrochemical plants, textile factories, and boat building shops, as well as residential areas, are located along the north side of the Wushen Canal in China. The local government plans to increase the waterway transport capacity, and with an annual increase in shipping capacity, the traffic-related pollution of PAHs in the form of oil spills and polluting anthropogenic activities will increase, thus posing a threat to the local aquatic system and human health.
Lake Guchenghu is an ecologically and economically important water body in the middle-lower Yangtze River area of China and serves as a water source for drinking water, domestic use, and commercial mitten crab culture. Mitten crab culture takes place in the reclamation area around the lake, and in 2015 crab production amounted to over 1.55 × 107 kg year−1, equal to a value of $ 2.29 × 108. Thus, mitten crab culture is of great economic and social importance, generating about 15,000 direct and 25,000 indirect jobs, and it is a strategic sector in the present and future economic development of the area.
As the presence of PAHs tends to be closely related to local and regional conditions, studies of PAHs in the Lake Guchenghu area are of paramount interest, both because of the potential economic implications and the already high input of PAHs from the local inhabitants, industry, and canal traffic. Little is, however, known about the organic pollutants in Lake Guchenghu. Dibutyl phthalate, Dioctyl Phthalate, Chrysene, Fluoranthene, and Pyrene were detected in the lake water in 1992 (Gao et al., 1996). In a recent study, Liang (2011) found that a total concentration of 144 ng L−1 of 11 PAHs in Lake Guchenghu, but studies on PAHs distribution and cancer risk assessments are not available. Therefore, identification and quantitative data of the sources as well as of the ecological risks posed by PAHs are critical for the management of these resources. In this study, samples were collected during a field survey in order to (1) elucidate the levels and distribution of 16 US-EPA PAHs in both overlying water and surface sediment; (2) determine the potential sources of PAHs and quantitatively assess the contribution of each source to total load using receptor models; (3) evaluate the potential ecotoxicological and human health risks of PAHs through mean effects range median quotients (mERMQ) analysis and the incremental lifetime cancer risk approach, respectively.
Section snippets
Study area and sampling
Lake Guchenghu, located in Gaochun City, is an important water source for the commercial culture of Chinese mitten crab and also serve as a drinking water supply for part of the local population. The 61-km-long Wushen Canal includes the Yangtze River at the upper reach, then flows through the urbanized area and Lake Guchenghu, and finally runs into Lake Taihu (Fig. 1). The detailed sampling information was presented in S-1 (Supplementary materials).
Sample preparation, instrument analysis and QA/QC for PAHs analysis
The target PAHs in this study were the 16
PAHs in sediment
The sum of 16 EPA-PAHs concentrations in sediment ranged from 86.7 ng g−1 dw to 1790 ng g−1 dw with an average value of 424 ng g−1 dw in summer and from 184 ng g−1 dw to 3140 ng g−1 dw with an average value of 946 ng g−1 dw in winter. Overall, there was a significant seasonal variation in the total PAHs concentrations in the sediment phase within the study area, the winter concentrations being significantly higher than in summer (p < 0.05) at all sites. Both Liu et al. (2016) and Tiwari et al.
Conclusions
Contamination with sixteen priority PAHs in overlying water and surface sediment from Lake Guchenghu and the connected Wushen Canal was analyzed to investigate the spatial distribution, possible sources and potential health risks to local residents. Total PAHs in sediment and water ranged from 86.7 to 1790 ng g−1dw and from 184 to 365 ng L−1 in summer and from 184 to 3140 ng g−1dw and from 410 to 1160 ng L−1 in winter, respectively. The results showed that accumulation of PAHs was higher in
Acknowledgements
We thank Ms. Anne Mette Poulsen for critical editorial assistance. Thanks to Yutong Sun for assistance with sampling and data analyses in the laboratory. This work has been supported by the National "Twelfth Five-Year" Plan for Science & Technology Support (No. 2015BAD13B06), the Science and Technology Service Network Initiative (No. KFJ-SW-STS-145), and the Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31400399). E. Jeppesen was supported by the MARS project (Managing Aquatic ecosystems and water
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