Distribution, sources and potential toxicological significance of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Taihu Lake sediments, China

Taihu Lake is one of the largest freshwater lakes in China. The lake is very shallow with a mean depth of 1.9 m and an area of 2428 km². This is the first time that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations in the surface sediments of Taihu Lake have been analyzed. A distinctive spatial distribution of PAHs was observed. Sediments from Lake Wulihu and Meiliang Bay (sites 1–5) had significantly higher PAH concentrations (858–5260 g kg^–1 dw) than any other area of Taihu Lake. These high PAH levels were associated with the input of untreated and partially treated domestic and industrial sewage from Wuxi, Changzhou, Wujin and other cities. Special PAH ratios, such as phenanthrene/anthracene and fluoranthene/pyrene, were calculated to evaluate the relative importance of different origins. The data confirmed a relatively high level of petrogenic contamination in sites 1–5 (mainly sewage discharge and the river runoff). The other samples were further from the sources of pollution and have relatively low PAH concentrations (410–768 g kg^–1 dw). The sources of PAHs in these sites (6–13) were characterized by combustion-derived PAH contamination associated with atmospheric deposition. In addition, effects range low (ERL) and effects range median (ERM) guidelines (Long et al., 1995) were used to estimate the potential of adverse effects resulting from PAH contamination in Taihu Lake sediments. The results indicated that some sites in the northern part of the lake had levels of PAH that exceeded the ERL value. This was interpreted to mean that acute biological effects may occasionally be expected to occur.