Abstract

  Polycyclic aromatic compounds continue to be regarded as a major environmental threat, especially in the aquatic environment. To gather further information on the distribution and levels of this group of persistent organic compounds in natural waters, the current analytical study was carried out. Material collected from multiple sites within the coastal areas and open sea of several surface water bodies, in the world, has different levels of polycyclic aromatic compounds. Concentrations of dissolved, particle- and biota-associated compounds (i.e., benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(e)pyrene, pyrene, chrysene etc.) were measured by multiple analytical techniques. The sediment and biota samples were extracted using Soxhlet extraction followed by analysis using reverse-phased liquid chromatography with UV and fluorescence detection and high resolution luminescence spectroscopy (Spol'skii method). This group of pollutants was significantly enriched in particulate matter, sediments and biota material at all sites relative to water concentrations. On the basis of data obtained, the enrichment factors of 10-105 for different carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic compounds in the particulate material and biota were reported. The more hydrophobic compounds exhibited greater increases with sediments. Thus, the bottom biota may be exposed to higher levels of hydrophobic pollutants than the organisms residing in the upper sediment-water interface.


Keywords: Polycyclic aromatic compounds; occurrence; aquatic ecosystem