Source apportionment and health risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the coastal ecosystem of the Brunei Bay, Brunei

Reza Sharifi; Mehrzad Keshavarzifard; Moslem Sharifinia; Mohamad Pauzi Zakaria; Meisam Rastegari Mehr; Sajjad Abbasi; Chee Kong Yap; Mohamad Reza Yousefi; Najat Masood; Sami Muhsen Magam; Sadeq Abdullah Abdo Alkhadher; Moslem Daliri

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113913

Source apportionment and health risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the coastal ecosystem of the Brunei Bay, Brunei

Mar Pollut Bull. 2022 Aug:181:113913. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113913. Epub 2022 Jul 7.

Affiliations

¹ University of Applied Science and Technology, Shiraz, Fars, Iran.
² Shrimp Research Center, Iranian Fisheries Sciences Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Bushehr 75169-89177, Iran. Electronic address: keshavarzifard@ifro.ir.
³ Shrimp Research Center, Iranian Fisheries Sciences Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Bushehr 75169-89177, Iran.
⁴ Environmental Forensics Research Center, Faculty of Environmental Studies, Universiti Putra, Malaysia.
⁵ Department of Applied Geology, Faculty of Earth Science, Kharazmi University, Tehran 15614, Iran.
⁶ Department of Earth Sciences, College of Science, Shiraz University, Shiraz 71454, Iran; Department of Radiochemistry and Environmental Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Lublin 20-031, Poland.
⁷ Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Serdang 43400, Malaysia.
⁸ School of Chemical Engineering University of Zanjan, University Blvd, Zanjan, Iran.
⁹ Department of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Ha'il, Ha'il 55471, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁰ Basic Science Department, Preparatory Year, University of Ha'il, 1560 Hail, Saudi Arabia.
¹¹ Yemen Standardization, Metrology and Quality Control Organization (YSMQ), Sana'a, Yemen.
¹² Fisheries Department, Faculty of Marine Sciences and Technology, University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas, Iran.

PMID: 35810648
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113913

Abstract

Pollution characteristics and associated ecological risks of PAHs in sediments from Brunei Bay, Brunei were investigated. The concentrations of ∑16 PAHs ranged from 826.7 to 2955.3 μg kg^-1, indicating moderate to high level of pollution. Source apportionment of PAHs by molecular isomeric ratios and positive matrix factorization model indicated impact of potential anthropogenic PAH sources including combustion of biomass and fossil fuels. The data indicated relatively no significant ecotoxicological risk for most of PAH compounds. To estimate the individual c-PAH toxicity, the toxic equivalent quantity (c-TEQ) was calculated. Results of the TEQ analysis showed that BaP followed by DBA and BaA are the most carcinogenic of PAHs examined in the study area. The evaluation of human health risk of PAHs revealed that the cancer risk of PAHs for adults and children was higher than the USEPA threshold (<1E-06) and lower than 1E-3, implying low to moderate risk.

Keywords: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); Positive matrix factorization (PMF); Sediment, Brunei Bay; Source apportionment.

MeSH terms

Bays
Brunei
Child
China
Ecosystem
Environmental Monitoring
Geologic Sediments
Humans
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons* / analysis
Risk Assessment
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Water Pollutants, Chemical