Spatiotemporal occurrence, sources and risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in a typical mariculture ecosystem.

The spatiotemporal variations, influencing factors and potential sources, as well as the ecological/health risks of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were systematically investigated in seawater, sediment, and fish from Xiangshan Bay, China, one of the most important and oldest domestic marine aquaculture bases. The average concentrations of Σ in seawater, sediment and fish were 150 ± 70.0 ng/L, 276 ± 271 μg/kg (dry weight, dw), and 434 ± 151 μg/kg (dw), respectively. Naphthalene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, benzo(b)fluoranthene and pyrene were the dominant contaminants in all samples. The highest PAH concentrations in the seawater and sediment samples occurred in the inner bay where the mariculture and industry are clustered. Seasonal differences were observed in the seawater samples but not in the sediment samples. Among all 15 fish species, large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea) (775 μg/kg (dw)), red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) (749 μg/kg (dw)), and flathead grey mullet (Mugil cephalus) (637 μg/kg (dw)) had relatively high PAH accumulation concentrations in muscle tissue. According to the molecular diagnostic ratio method, the PAHs in seawater mainly originated from a mixed source of petroleum and combustion, whereas biomass/coal combustion sources were identified for sediment. The results obtained from the risk quotient (for seawater), sediment quality guidelines and toxic equivalence quotients (for seawater and sediment) methods showed that the ecological risks posed by PAHs were generally at a low to moderate level. Potentially toxic effects existed from PAH-contaminated fish consumption, and the resulting potential carcinogenic risk was also slightly higher than the recommended guidelines (10).