Environmental risk assessment of petroleum pollutants in water and sediments of Al-Mushab and Al-Salal Marshes

• Main Authors: Sultan, Hassan H., Sultan, Maitham A., Jawad, Ali M.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Environmental monitoring; Environmental protection; Environmental risk; Estimation; Industrial development; Marshes; Petroleum industry; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Residues; Risk assessment; Sediments; Toxicity; Water sampling
• ISSN: 0094-243X; 1551-7616
• DOI: 10.1063/5.0144513

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are more dangerous xenobiotics, very car-ci-no-genic for animals and humans. They are found in air, water, sediments, and plant and animal tissues. most PAHs in the environment are derived during incomplete combustion of organic substances. Estimating environmental risks of PAHs compounds in the marshes environment resulting from the flourishing of the oil industry in this region in recent years, which requires more studies to monitor environmental pollution caused by oil residues. Studies concerned with the estimation of PAHs are almost very rare. Eleven sites were selected for field sampling stations along the edge of the Al-Hammar marsh to cover most of the sites contaminated with oil residues, to calculate the Environmental Risk and the toxicity. The results of this study noted that the total PAHs detected in this study were 15 out of 16 PAHs compounds which were determined by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and all their concentrations were higher than the maximum allowable limit of the WHO (2011). In the water, the percentage of environmental risk in most study sites was medium level (81.81%). Also, in the sediments the percentage was high (72.72%) of the stations at a medium level. The toxicity values ranged between 0.053-61.596 mg/l for water samples and 0.22-839.10 mg/kg for sediment samples. It is clear that the toxicity values in the study stations were all higher than the Canadian standards for sediment quality. The study found that there are environmental risks at medium and high levels in most of the study sites in the water and sediments of Al-Mashab and Al-Salal marshes because of the newly developed oil industry that requires continued environmental monitoring and further research and studies and expedite the development of appropriate treatments by the responsible authorities.