Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in marine organisms from Mischief Reef in the South China sea: Implications for sources and human exposure

Mischief Reef, the largest atoll of Nansha Islands, China, is an important sea passage for heavy tonnage ships and an excellent base for marine fisheries. No pollution survey of this reef has been previously conducted. The results indicated that total concentrations of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydroca...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine pollution bulletin 2019-12, Vol.149, p.110623, Article 110623
Main Authors: Sun, Run-Xia, Yang, Xiao, Li, Qing X., Wu, You-Ting, Shao, Hai-Yang, Wu, Ming-Hong, Mai, Bi-Xian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aromatic compounds
Aromatic hydrocarbons
Atolls
Bioaccumulation
Cargo ships
Combustion
Diesel fuels
Fish
Fisheries surveys
Fossil fuels
Invertebrates
Lipids
Low molecular weights
Marine fish
Marine fisheries
Marine organisms
Marine pollution
Merchant ships
Mischief reef
Molecular weight
Oil spills
PAHs
Pollution surveys
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
Principal components analysis
Reefs
Seafood
Seafoods
South China sea
Surveying
Tonnage
Weight
Wet weight
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Summary:Mischief Reef, the largest atoll of Nansha Islands, China, is an important sea passage for heavy tonnage ships and an excellent base for marine fisheries. No pollution survey of this reef has been previously conducted. The results indicated that total concentrations of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the investigated 44 marine organisms (37 fishes and 7 invertebrates) ranged from 12.8 to 81.3 ng/g wet weight (ww). A significant positive correlation was observed between lipid content and the PAH concentrations based on ww only in the fish inside the reef. The low molecular weight PAHs accounted for the largest proportion (88%). The principal component analysis suggested four main sources of PAHs: combustion of fossil fuels (37%), oil spills and diesel-powered cargo ship emissions (14%), traffic-related exhaust (13%) and coal combustion (11%). Seafood from Mischief Reef is safe for human consumption. •This was the first study of PAHs in marine organisms collected from Mischief Reef.•PAH concentrations in marine species were at global low to moderate levels.•Enclosed water body was suitable to study the bioaccumulation of pollutants.•The main source of PAHs in Mischief Reef was petrogenic.•Seafood from Mischief Reef was safe for human consumption.
ISSN:0025-326X
1879-3363
DOI:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.110623