Interaction between Marine Humic Matter and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in211 Lower Cook Inlet and Port Valdez, Alaska

摘要

Humic acid is a major component of naturally occurring organic matter; it211u001einteracts strongly with organic pollutants including polycyclic aromatic 211u001ehydrocarbons (PAH), a class of organic pollutants present in petroleum and 211u001eassociated with significant long-term environmental and human health problems. 211u001eThe chemical associations resulting from the interaction between humic acid and 211u001ePAH influence the fate and effects of PAH which are of great concern in coastal 211u001eregions such as Cook Inlet, Alaska, where petroleum production and transportation 211u001ecoexist with renewable resources and environmental values. This project 211u001einvestigated the interaction of PAH and marine humic acid from sediments of Lower 211u001eCook Inlet and Port Valdez, Alaska, in an attempt to understand how and to what 211u001eextent the molecular character of humic acid from these sediments influences 211u001etheir ability to adsorb PAH. Geochemical characterization of sediments and humic 211u001eacids from the study area showed that their chemical composition is non-uniform, 211u001eprobably reflecting differences in both source materials and post-depositional 211u001ealterations. This result indicates that the measured concentrations of PAH are 211u001elargely unrelated to the properties of the humic acid from the same sediments. It 211u001eis more likely that the amounts of PAH to which the sediments are exposed control 211u001eobserved concentrations.