Distribution and Association Form of Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Sediments from Tokyo Bay

Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), including fluoranthene, pyrene, benzo(a)-anthracene, chrysene, benzo(a)pyrene (benzo(e)pyrene), dibenzo(a,h)anthracene and benzo(ghi)perylene, were identified and determined in sediments from Tokyo Bay. Their concentrations were proved to be in a range from several tens to several hundreds µg/kg of dry samples. This seems to suggest that the smaller are the average particle sizes of sediments and the higher are the total amounts of PAH concentrations.

Statistically significant positive correlations were observed between the following pairs: total amount of PAH vs. clay content; total amount of PAH vs. the sum of (clay + silt) contents; total amount of PAH vs. ignition loss. In addition, significant positive correlations were statistically found between ignition loss and clay content as well as the sum of (clay + silt) contents.