Distribution and Source of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Sediments of Northern Kaohsiung Harbor, Taiwan

摘要

Surface sediment samples were collected from the northern Kaohsiung Harbor, Taiwan and analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Total PAHs concentrations varied from 432 to 2,616 ng/g, with a mean concentration of 1,289±661 ng/g. The spatial distribution of PAHs reveals that the PAHs concentration is relatively high in the river mouth region, and gradually diminishes toward the harbor region. Diagnostic ratios showed that the possible source of PAHs in the northern Kaohsiung Harbor could be a mixture of pyrolytic and petrogenic with a major pyrolytic predominance. The toxic equivalent concentrations (TEQ~(carc)) of PAHs varied from 15 to 587 ng TEQ/g. The higher total TEQ~(carc) values were found in the river mouth region. As compared with the US Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQGs), the observed levels of high molecular weight PAHs at river mouth were higher than the effects range low (ERL), and could thus cause acute biological damage.