Characterization and risk assessment of PAH-contaminated river sediment by using advanced multivariate methods
Journal
Science of the Total Environment
Journal Volume
524-525
Pages
63-73
Date Issued
2015
Author(s)
Abstract
This study applied advanced multivariate methods and risk assessment to evaluate the characteristics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the sediment of the severely polluted Erjen River in Taiwan. High-molecular-weight PAHs (HPAHs) dominated in the rainy season. The ecological risk of PAHs in the sediment was low, whereas the total health risk through ingestion and dermal contact was considerably high. The SOM (self-organizing map) analysis clustered the datasets of PAH-contaminated sediment into five groups with similar concentration levels. Factor analysis identified major factors, namely coal combustion, traffic, petrogenic, and petrochemical industry factors, accounting for 88.67% of the variance in the original datasets. The major tributary and the downstream of the river were identified as PAH-contamination hotspots. The PMF (positive matrix factorization) was combined with toxicity assessment to estimate the possible apportionment of sources and the associated toxicity. Spills of petroleum-related products, vehicle exhaust, coal combustion, and exhaust from a petrochemical industry complex constituted respectively 12%, 6%, 74%, and 86% of PAHs in the sediment, but contributed respectively 7%, 15%, 22%, and 56% of toxicity posed by PAHs in the sediment. To improve the sediment quality, best management practices should be adopted to eliminate nonpoint sources of PAHs flushed by storm water into the major tributary and the downstream of the Erjen River. The proposed methodologies and results provide useful information on remediating river PAH-contaminated sediment and may be applicable to other basins with similar properties that are experiencing resembled river environmental issues. ? 2015 Elsevier B.V.
Subjects
PAHs; Positive matrix factorization; Risk assessment; Sediment quality
SDGs
Other Subjects
Aromatic hydrocarbons; Coal combustion; Coal industry; Conformal mapping; Contamination; Factorization; Health risks; Matrix algebra; Petrochemicals; Petroleum industry; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Risk assessment; Rivers; Sedimentology; Sediments; Self organizing maps; Toxicity; Best management practices; Contaminated river sediments; PAHs; Petrochemical industry; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHS); Positive Matrix Factorization; Sediment quality; SOM(self organizing map); River pollution; petroleum; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon; water pollutant; ecological impact; environmental issue; environmental risk; factor analysis; fluvial deposit; health risk; PAH; risk assessment; sediment pollution; toxicity; Article; coal combustion; combustion; concentration (parameters); dry season; oil spill; petrochemical industry; physical parameters; positive matrix factorization; priority journal; rainy season; risk assessment; river; seasonal variation; sediment; self organizing map analysis; Taiwan; traffic; water contamination; analysis; chemistry; environmental monitoring; risk assessment; river; sediment; statistics and numerical data; water pollutant; water pollution; Erjen River; Taiwan; Environmental Monitoring; Geologic Sediments; Polycyclic Hydrocarbons, Aromatic; Risk Assessment; Rivers; Taiwan; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Water Pollution, Chemical
Type
journal article