Issue 1, 2024

Source-specific ecological and health risks of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the adjacent coastal area of the Yellow River Estuary, China

Abstract

Industrialization and urbanization have led to increasing levels of PAH pollution in highly urbanized estuaries and their adjacent coastal areas globally. This study focused on the adjacent coastal area of the Yellow River Estuary (YRE) and collected surface seawater, surface sediment, and clams Ruditapes philippinarum and Mactra veneriformis at four sites (S1 to S4) in May, August, and October 2021 to analyze the source-specific ecological and health risks and bioeffects. The findings revealed that the main sources of PAHs were traffic emission (25.2% to 28.5%), petroleum sources (23.3% to 29.5%), coal combustion (24.7% to 27.5%), and biomass combustion (19.8% to 20.7%). Further, the PMF-RQ and PMF-ILCR analyses indicated that traffic emission was the primary contributor to ecological risks in seawater and health risks in both clam species, while coal combustion was the major contributor in sediment. Taken together, it is recommended to implement control strategies for PAH pollution following the priority order: traffic > coal > petroleum > biomass, to reduce the content and risk of PAHs in the YRE.

Graphical abstract: Source-specific ecological and health risks of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the adjacent coastal area of the Yellow River Estuary, China

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
26 9月 2023
Accepted
09 11月 2023
First published
27 11月 2023

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2024,26, 146-160

Source-specific ecological and health risks of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the adjacent coastal area of the Yellow River Estuary, China

Z. Li, R. Qi, Y. Li, J. Miao, Y. Li, Z. He, N. Zhang and L. Pan, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2024, 26, 146 DOI: 10.1039/D3EM00419H

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements