School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine Engineering, Ministry of Education, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, PR China.
Department of Mathematics, School of Physical Sciences, Sikkim University, Gangtok 737102, Sikkim, India.
Sci Total Environ. 2022 Jul 1;828:154430. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154430. Epub 2022 Mar 9.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have posed serious risk to marine ecosystems due to their carcinogenic properties, and persistence in the environment and elevated bioaccumulation. It, therefore, becomes essential to examine spatial distribution, composition, and sources of PAHs. In this study, we have examined these PAH variations in the South China Sea (SCS) and East China Sea (ECS), that are experiencing rapid population and economic growth by the surrounding developing countries. It revealed high seasonal variations that significantly differ between dissolved and particulate PAHs concentrations. Spatial variations of PAHs across sites remain relatively insignificant. Persistently high particulate concentrations of the Naphthalene (Nap) were observed, whereas the dissolved concentrations of Fluorene (Flu) and Phenanthrene (Phen) remained prevalent across all the seasons. The result of non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) strongly reflects the weak dispersions of PAHs across the seasons and the contrasting effects of the phase partitioning. Principal component analysis indicates that the primary source of PAH contamination is coal tar or petroleum distillation. However, estimated risk quotient (RQ) values of both the dissolved and particulate PAHs in all the seasons are far below the high-risk levels, while dissolved PAHs displayed relatively higher values. This study signifies the importance of phase petitioning for PAHs monitoring and potential risk assessments.
多环芳烃 (PAHs) 具有致癌性，在环境中持久存在且易于生物累积，因此对海洋生态系统构成了严重威胁。因此，有必要研究 PAHs 的空间分布、组成和来源。本研究通过考察中国南海（SCS）和东海（ECS）的 PAH 变化，来探讨周边发展中国家快速的人口和经济增长所带来的影响。结果表明，SCS 和 ECS 的 PAHs 具有显著的季节性变化，且溶解态和颗粒态 PAHs 浓度之间存在明显差异。PAHs 在各站位之间的空间变化相对较小。萘（Nap）的颗粒态浓度一直较高，而芴（Flu）和菲（Phen）在所有季节的溶解态浓度均较高。非度量多维尺度分析（NMDS）的结果强烈反映了 PAHs 在不同季节之间的弱分散性，以及相分配的对比影响。主成分分析表明，PAH 污染的主要来源是煤焦油或石油蒸馏。然而，所有季节的溶解态和颗粒态 PAHs 的估计风险商（RQ）值均远低于高风险水平，而溶解态 PAHs 则显示出相对较高的 RQ 值。本研究表明，在 PAHs 监测和潜在风险评估中，相分配具有重要意义。
