Search

Sediments collected from the continental shelf of China, embracing Yellow Sea, inner shelf of the East China Sea (ECS), and the South China Sea (SCS), were analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The concentrations of anthropogenic PAHs (Σ18PAH) were 27–224 ng/g dry weight, with an average of 82 ng/g. Sedimentary PAHs in the continental shelf off China were mainly derived from mixed residues of biomass, coal, and petroleum combustion. Fluvial transport and atmospheric deposition mainly accounted for sediment PAHs in the ECS inner shelf and Yellow Sea (and the SCS), respectively. Furthermore, statistically higher levels of Σ18PAH (28–224 ng/g; mean 110 ng/g) in the Yellow Sea sediment than in the SCS sediment (28–109 ng/g; mean 58 ng/g) were probably resulted from higher PAH emissions from coke industry and domestic coal combustion in North China than in South China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Water samples collected from upstream tributaries of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) and from locations within the PRD (South China) were analyzed for 27 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Average concentrations (aqueous plus particulate) of total 27 PAHs (Σ27PAH), 16 priority PAHs designated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) except naphthalene (Σ15PAH), and the seven carcinogenic PAHs (Σ7PAH) classified by the USEPA were 260 ± 410, 130 ± 310, and 15 ± 12 ng/L, respectively. Riverine PAHs were predominantly generated from coal and vegetation combustion, coke production, vehicle exhausts, and petroleum residues, accounting for 28%, 25%, 22% and 21%, respectively, on average. Upstream riverine fluxes of Σ27PAH and Σ15PAH amounted to 38.9 and 12.9 tons/year, respectively. The net contributions of Σ27PAH and Σ15PAH from sources within the PRD were estimated at 21.4 and 21.0 tons/year, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The average concentrations of ∑LABs (sum of C10–C13-LABs) in runoff samples collected from the eight major riverine outlets of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) of China ranged from 1.4 to 6124ng/L in the dissolved phase and from 0.01 to 11.4μg/g dry weight in the particulate phase during March 2005–February 2006. The annual riverine flux of ∑LABs from the PRD to the coastal ocean was estimated at approximately 14tons/yr. The inventories of ∑LABs in agricultural lands of Guangdong Province ranged from 313 to 1825kg/yr. The early and late rice fields were the major sink of LABs, accounting for approximately 68% of total LABs inventory in agricultural lands. The social-economically estimated annual discharge of LABs from household detergents in the PRD was ∼696tons/yr, more than an order of magnitude higher than that estimated from field measurements (about 14tons/yr), which was attributed to several factors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]