The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) pollution in Taihu Lake Basin has caused widespread concern. However, the spatial temporal distribution of PAHs in the upstream rivers of Taihu Lake Basin remains largely unknown. Thus, this study aims to investigate the level, spatial distribution, sources, and environment risk caused by PAHs in upstream rivers of Taihu Lake Basin. The concentrations of total 16 PAHs (∑16PAHs) ranged from 188.64 to 1060.39 ng/g, with an average of 472.62 ng/g. High-molecular-weight (HMW) PAHs were the predominant compounds in most sample sites. The results of source analysis demonstrated that the PAH pollution was mainly sourced from mixture of combustion and direct petroleum spillage. The ecological risk assessment showed that moderate ecological risk caused by the PAH contaminants might occur in most sample sites. The incremental lifetime cancer risks (ILCRs) ranged from 2.07 ×10-4 - 2.66 × 10-3 for children and 9.66 ×10-5 - 1.24 × 10-3 for adult, indicating moderate cancer risk of PAH-contaminated sediments.
Keywords: Ecological risk; Human health risk; PAHs; Pollution; Sediment; Taihu Lake.
© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.