Source apportionment and ecological risk assessment of PAHs in surface sediments from the Liaodong Bay, northern China

The sources and ecological risk from sixteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in surface sediment in the Liaodong Bay were investigated from 2014 to 2015. The total concentrations of PAHs ranged from 88.5 to 347.1 ng/g, and the high value occurred in the central region of the Liaodong Bay. Cluster analysis identified two site clusters representing the coastal region affected by land-based pollution and the central region of the Liaodong Bay. Principal component analysis-multiple linear regression and diagnostic ratios suggested that PAHs contaminants originated from a mixture of combustion and petroleum sources, and the major was combustion sources. Based on sediment quality guideline, naphthalene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, phenanthrene and dibenz[a,h]anthracene may occasionally cause adverse biological effects in some stations. The toxic equivalent concentrations of carcinogenic PAHs indicated low carcinogenic risk for the Liaodong Bay. The ecological risk and toxic pollution levels of PAHs were higher in the central region than in the coastal region along the Liaodong Bay.