Occurrence and Toxicological Risk Assessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Heavy Metals in Drinking Water Resources of Southern China

Muting Yan; Huayue Nie; Wenjing Wang; Yumei Huang; Jun Wang

doi:10.3390/ijerph15071422

Occurrence and Toxicological Risk Assessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Heavy Metals in Drinking Water Resources of Southern China

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Jul 6;15(7):1422. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15071422.

Authors

Muting Yan^{1

2}, Huayue Nie^{3

4}, Wenjing Wang^{5

6}, Yumei Huang^{7

8}, Jun Wang^{9

10}

Affiliations

¹ College of Marine Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. marineymt@scau.edu.cn.
² Joint Laboratory of Guangdong Province and Hong Kong Region on Marine Bioresource Conservation and Exploitation, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. marineymt@scau.edu.cn.
³ College of Marine Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. hynhy@stu.scau.edu.cn.
⁴ Joint Laboratory of Guangdong Province and Hong Kong Region on Marine Bioresource Conservation and Exploitation, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. hynhy@stu.scau.edu.cn.
⁵ College of Marine Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. wenjing1379@163.com.
⁶ Joint Laboratory of Guangdong Province and Hong Kong Region on Marine Bioresource Conservation and Exploitation, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. wenjing1379@163.com.
⁷ College of Marine Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. huangyumei@scau.edu.cn.
⁸ Joint Laboratory of Guangdong Province and Hong Kong Region on Marine Bioresource Conservation and Exploitation, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. huangyumei@scau.edu.cn.
⁹ College of Marine Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. wangjun2016@scau.edu.cn.
¹⁰ Joint Laboratory of Guangdong Province and Hong Kong Region on Marine Bioresource Conservation and Exploitation, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. wangjun2016@scau.edu.cn.

Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals exposure is related to a variety of diseases and cancer development, posing a great health risk to humans. In this study, water samples were collected from nine important water sources in Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan provinces to determine the degree of PAHs and heavy metals contamination. Overall, the total contents of 16 PAHs and heavy metals were found within the permissible levels. In human health risk assessment, the benzo(a)pyrene equivalent concentration (BaP_eq) presented a much lower level than the guideline values announced by Chinese Environmental Protection Agency (CEPA) and United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), demonstrating that the PAHs contamination level in drinking water was mostly acceptable. For heavy metals, the Chronic daily intake (CDI), hazard quotient (HQ) or hazard index (HI) suggested that the water quality in nine water sources was desirable and did not present a risk to human health.

Keywords: PAHs; drinking water; health risk; heavy metals; water pollution.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

China
Drinking Water / chemistry*
Humans
Metals, Heavy / analysis*
Metals, Heavy / toxicity
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / analysis*
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / toxicity
Risk Assessment
Water Pollutants, Chemical / analysis*
Water Pollutants, Chemical / toxicity
Water Quality*

Substances

Drinking Water
Metals, Heavy
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Water Pollutants, Chemical