Baseline distribution of petroleum hydrocarbon contamination in the marine environment around the coastline of Qatar

Noora Al-Shamary; Hassan Hassan; Alexandra Leitão; Simon M Hutchinson; Debapriya Mondal; Stéphane Bayen

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114655

Baseline distribution of petroleum hydrocarbon contamination in the marine environment around the coastline of Qatar

Mar Pollut Bull. 2023 Mar:188:114655. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114655. Epub 2023 Feb 9.

Authors

Noora Al-Shamary¹, Hassan Hassan², Alexandra Leitão², Simon M Hutchinson³, Debapriya Mondal⁴, Stéphane Bayen⁵

Affiliations

¹ Environnemental Science Center, Qatar University, Qatar; School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, UK.
² Environnemental Science Center, Qatar University, Qatar.
³ School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, UK.
⁴ Department of Population Health, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK.
⁵ Department of Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry, McGill University, Canada. Electronic address: stephane.bayen@mcgill.ca.

PMID: 36764146
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114655

Abstract

Levels of organic contaminants (TPHs, PAHs) were simultaneously determined in both abiotic (sediments, seawater) and biotic (Pinctada radiata oysters) samples at four sites along the coastline of Qatar (Arabian Gulf) in 2017-2018. TPHs and PAHs were more frequently detected in oyster tissues than sediment and seawater samples collected from the same areas. While levels of TPHs and PAHs in seawater and sediments were lower than previous local studies and worldwide studies, PAHs levels observed in pearl oyster tissue (25.9-2240 μg/kg) were relatively higher than in previous studies in Qatar. In general, eight PAHs compounds were detected in oyster tissue, with benzo(a)pyrene displaying the highest concentration. The coast of Qatar could be affected by seasonal patterns of pollutants, where TPHs and PAHs levels increased in winter compared to summer. These results provide key information on the use of the pearl oyster as a bioindicator species and Qatar's marine environment.

Keywords: Arabian Gulf; Bioaccumulation; Bioindicator species; Pinctada radiata; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Total petroleum hydrocarbons.

MeSH terms

Animals
Environmental Monitoring / methods
Geologic Sediments
Hydrocarbons
Ostreidae*
Petroleum*
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons* / analysis
Qatar
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

Petroleum
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Hydrocarbons