State of the art and future challenges for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons is sediments: sources, fate, bioavailability and remediation techniques

Publication date: 5 March 2019Source: Journal of Hazardous Materials, Volume 365Author(s): Snežana P. Maletić, Jelena M. Beljin, Srđan D. Rončević, Marko G. Grgić, Božo D. DalmacijaAbstractPolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are amongst the most abundant contaminants found in the aquatic environment. Due to their toxicity and carcinogenicity, their sources, fate, behaviour, and cleanup techniques have been widely investigated in the last several decades. When entering the sediment-water system, PAH fate is determined by particular PAH and sediment physico-chemical properties. Most of the PAHs will be associated with fine-grained, organic-rich, sediment material. This makes sediment an ultimate sink for these pollutants. This association results in sediment contamination, and in this manner, sediments represent a permanent source of water pollution from which benthic organisms may accumulate toxic compounds, predominantly in lipid-rich tissues. A tendency for biomagnification can result in critical body burdens in higher trophic species. In recent years, researchers have developed numerous methods for measuring bioavailable fractions (chemical methods, non-exhaustive extraction, and biomimetic methods), as valuable tools in a risk-based approach for remediation or management of contaminated sites. Contaminated sediments pose challenging cleanup and management problems, as conventional environmental dredging techniques are invasive, expensive, and sometimes ineffecti...
Source: Journal of Hazardous Materials - Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research