Ecological Assessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Water, Sediment, and Fish in the Suez Bay, Egypt, and Related Human Health Risk Assessment

Document Type : Regular issue (Original Article)

Authors

1 Chemistry Laboratory, National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Cairo, Egypt

2 Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

Levels of some polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in water, sediment, and different organs of three commercial fish species (Teraponputa, Rastrelligerkanagurta, and Nemipterus japonicus) collected from the northern part of the Gulf of Suez. Pyrene (Pyr) was found to be the dominant PAH in water, sediment, and edible parts of fish species. Different indices were used to detect the PAH sources. Low ratio (low/high molecular weight) PAHs were observed in all samples, suggesting pyrogenic sources for water, sediment, and fish. However, other indexes that depend on the components ratios of the same molecular weight suggested petrogenic sources. PAH concentrations in water samples from sites in front of the Attaqa Electric Power and Petroleum Pipelines Company exceeded the maximum permissible concentration according to the European Union. In contrast, in sediment samples, only the Green Island site had high Pyrene concentrations (above effects range-low and below effects range-median) that may have mild undesirable biological effects. Based on the human health risk assessment, the high lifetime cancer risk values were higher than the threshold value (10−4) suggested by the USEPA. the results declared the potential risk due to the consumption of studied fish for populations around the study area.

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