Marine Pollution Bulletin 127 (2018) 352–358

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Marine Pollution Bulletin

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Baseline

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in superficial water from a tropical T

estuarine system: Distribution, seasonal variations, sources and ecological
risk assessment
Ewerton Santosa, Michel R.R. Souzaa, Antônio R. Vilela Juniora, Laiane S. Soaresa,
⁎
Morgana Frenab, Marcelo R. Alexandrea,
a
Universidade Federal de Sergipe, Departamento de Química, Jardim Rosa Elze, São Cristóvão, SE 449100-000, Brazil
b
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Departamento de Química, Campus Universitário Trindade, Florianópolis, SC 88040-900, Brazil

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: This study aimed to evaluate the PAH distribution, sources, seasonal variations and ecological risk assessment in
PAH superficial water from the Japaratuba River, Brazil. PAH concentrations ranged from 4 to 119 ng L− 1. It was
Water observed that the PAH total concentrations and profiles showed significant differences when comparing the dry
Distribution season (summer) with the rainy season (winter). Furthermore, most of the PAH originated from pyrogenic
Source
sources in the winter, whereas a mixture of sources was observed in the summer. PAH concentration levels found
Seasonal variations
Ecological risk assessment
in this study were considered lower than those obtained in other estuarine systems. Ecological risk assessment
was determined for individual PAH, based on the risk quotient (RQ) to evaluate the risk of aquatic biota's
exposure to PAH. Results suggested that the Japaratuba River has achieved a moderate degree of ecological risk
for high molecular weight, showing the importance of identifying these carcinogenic and mutagenic compounds
in aquatic systems.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are compounds that con-
sist of two or more condensed rings and might be scattered into the
particulate matter, sediments and water columns through natural and
anthropogenic combustion (Li et al., 2014; Lin et al., 2015; Abdel-Shafy
and Mansour, 2016). Due to their carcinogenic, mutagenic and terato-
genic effects, these compounds have been considered harmful to hu-
mans (Ravindra et al., 2008). Therefore, 16 PAH were classified as
priority pollutants according to the United States Environmental Pro-
tection Agency (USEPA) (Manoli et al., 2000),which continue to be
reported in different studies worldwide (Ravindra et al., 2008; Wolska
et al., 2012; Lewis and Russel, 2015; Celino et al., 2012; Patrolecco
et al., 2010; Sarria-Villa et al., 2015; Malik et al., 2011; Zhao et al.,
2014; Yan et al., 2016; Santana et al., 2015). Although the majority of
the PAH might be introduced in the environment through anthro-
pogenic inputs, they can also originate from natural sources (Wolska
et al., 2012). Their introduction in aquatic environments, such as rivers,
lakes, reservoirs and estuaries might affect the aquatic biota, as well as
the wildlife and humans via the food chain (Fernandes et al., 1997).
Estuaries are commonly defined as semi-enclosed coastal water
bodies that have a free connection with the open sea, extending from
the rivers to the limits of the tidal zones, in which salt water is
significantly diluted with fresh water derived from land drainage
(Pritchard, 1967). They are also vital for the majority of marine fauna,
showing a global importance due to their food sources and biodiversity,
not to mention their historical and cultural impact on humanity over
the centuries (Zhang et al., 2016). Therefore, evaluating the PAH pre-
sence in estuarine systems has proven to be very important, considering
their ecological risk to the environment. Based on that, the risk quotient
(RQ) has been widely used. It is based on the concentration of a certain
PAH or their sum (∑PAH) and the toxic equivalent factors (Cao et al.,
2010; Yan et al., 2016).
Japaratuba River Basin plays an essential role in the development of
Sergipe State, Northeast Brazil. Mineral and chemical industries, agri-
culture, manufacture and harbor areas are some of the activities that
are directly benefitted by the existence of this estuarine system, not to
mention the largest onshore oilfield in Brazil, located in Carmópolis
City, which has an extension of > 150 km2 and approximately 1200
exploration oilers. Therefore, an ecological risk associated with the
presence of anthropogenic activities near the Japaratuba River has been
observed. Domestic and industrial effluents, as well as by-products as-
sociated with petroleum exploration, have been introduced into the
Atlantic Ocean through the Japaratuba estuarine system. These inputs

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: mralexandre@ufs.br (M.R. Alexandre).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.12.014
Received 25 September 2017; Received in revised form 1 December 2017; Accepted 5 December 2017
Available online 21 December 2017
0025-326X/ © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
E. Santos et al.
Fig. 1. ƩPAH concentrations in water samples from the Japaratuba River Basin.
have been modifying the environmental quality of the region due to the
introduction of inorganic and organic pollutants (Pantaleão et al., 2007;
Secretária de Estado do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Hídricos, 2016).
In addition, studies related to PAH contamination in the Japaratuba
River Basin have never been reported in the literature, even though the
presence of anthropogenic processes related to the economic activities
of the region has increased over the years.
The objectives of this study are to: (i) investigate the PAH dis-
tribution, composition profiles and seasonal variations in superficial
waters from the Japaratuba River Basin; (ii) determine the PAH sources
using principal component analysis (PCA), ratios and indexes; and (iii)
evaluate the ecological risk assessment through a risk quotient (RQ)
that is based on toxic equivalence factors (TEF), which might associate
the ecological risk to the individual PAH and ∑ PAH. Also, the results of
this study will provide valuable information for regulatory actions
aiming to improve the quality of water in the Japaratuba River Basin.
Forty-six superficial water samples were collected in the Japaratuba
River Basin in the winter of 2016 and the summer of 2017. Among the
water quality parameters, salinity, pH, turbidity and temperature va-
lues ranged from 0.23 to 22.28‰, 6.0 to 7.3, 45 to 150 cm and 13.5 to
28.0 °C in the winter, whereas in the summer these values ranged from
0.08 to 9.81‰, 6.1 to 7.7, 44 to 72 cm and 11.0 to 34.0 °C, respectively.
These are typical values considering the climate in this area, with two
outstanding seasons, one rainy (winter) and another dry (summer).
Sampling was performed using clean amber glass bottles. Once in the
laboratory, the samples were stored and kept at 4 °C. Each sample (4 L)
was filtered using glass filters (Macherey-Nagel, 47 mm Ø, GF-1,
Germany) under vacuum. Prior to extraction, samples were spiked with
a known amount of surrogate standards (naphthalene-d8, ace-
naphthene-d10, phenanthrene-d10, chrysene-d12 and perylene-d12 —
AccuStandard, USA). Liquid-liquid extractions were performed with
150 mL (3 × 50 mL) of n-hexane (HPLC grade — MACRON, USA). The
extracts were then combined and concentrated until reaching a final
volume of 1.0 mL, when internal standard (p-terfenil-d14 — Supelco,
USA) was added for GC–MS/MS analysis.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were analyzed using a gas chro-
matograph (Shimadzu GC–MS TQ8040 — Kyoto, Japan), equipped with
an AOC5000Plus autosampler and a split/splitless injector. A SBL 05-
MS capillary column (30 m × 0.25 mm i.d., 0.25 μm of film thickness
— Supelco, USA) was used under the following conditions: 40 °C for
1 min up to 150 °C at 20 °C min− 1, increasing to 220 °C at 10 °C min− 1
and up to 300 °C at 10 °C min− 1, being finally held at the final
353
Marine Pollution Bulletin 127 (2018) 352–358
temperature for 7 min. The GC–MS interface was kept at 300 °C. Helium
(99.999% purity) was used as carrier gas at a flow rate of
1.2 mL min− 1. PAH were quantified using a multiple reaction mon-
itoring (MRM) mode with argon (99.998% purity) as collision gas. The
ion source was operated at 280 °C with an electron ionization source of
70 eV.
Surrogates, internal standard and blank samples were used to vali-
date the analytical method employed in this study. Accuracy and re-
liability were determined by using blank samples containing 16 priority
PAH and surrogate standards. Individual PAH recovery ranged from
65% (Naf) to 84% (Pyr), with a standard deviation of < 10%. Limits of
detection ranged from 0.05 ng L− 1 up to 0.25 ng L− 1, whereas the
limits of quantification ranged from 0.15 ng L− 1 to 0.50 ng L− 1. Spiked
samples were analyzed, showing PAH recoveries ranging from 83% to
101% in the winter and from 61% to 107% in the summer. These data
were considered accurate and reliable, as they did no show interference
of external contaminants in the GC–MS analysis. Statistical analyses
were performed using Statistica Software 7.0. Furthermore, a Shapiro-
Wilk test was performed to evaluate the normal distribution of the data,
whereas the difference between statistical groups was evaluated
through the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Ecological risk assessment was
determined by using toxic equivalent factors for each PAH as described
by Liu et al. (2012).
ƩPAH concentrations ranged from 12 to 119 ng L− 1 and 4 to
17 ng L− 1, with a mean value of 17 and 9 ng L− 1 in the winter and in
the summer, respectively (Fig. 1). The highest concentration values
were found in the winter (J1A), in the areas located next to the river
mouth whereas the lowest concentration values were found up river, in
the summer (J10A).
A significant difference involving the 16 PAH was also observed
when considering the 17 sampling areas (p < 0.05), in which the total
PAH concentration in the summer was lower (152 ng L− 1) than in the
winter (462 ng L− 1). This finding suggests that local drought, which
increased the temperature, as well as the biodegradation and photo-
degradation processes by planktonic communities, and the increasing
deposition of particulate matter in the aquatic system through the tidal
phenomenon, might be some of the factors that reduced the PAH con-
centration in the dry season (Yamada et al., 2003; Rügner et al., 2014;
Jalón-Rojas et al., 2015).
As shown in Table 1, the PAH total concentrations were relatively
low in this study, but they were considered higher than those found in
Todos os Santos and Tampa Bay, regions of great economic importance
E. Santos et al.
Table 1
PAH concentration levels in surface water samples (ng L− 1) in the Japarutuba River and other sites around the world.
Sites na ∑ PAH (ng g− 1)
Tampa Bay, Florida 16 < LOD
Todos os Santos bay, Brazil 14 0.0029–0.1079
Tiber River, Italy 6 23.9–72.0
Cauca River, Colombia 12 52.1–12,888.2
Gomti River, India 16 60–84,210.0
Songhua River, China 16 163–2.746
Hai River Basin, China 14 232.12–7596.56
Almendares River, Cuba 14 836.0–15,811.0
Japaratuba River, Brazil 16 4.4–119
< LOD — limit of detection; NA — not available.
a
Number of PAH.
due to the presence of several anthropogenic activities, such as extra-
ctivism, petroleum exploration and transportation as well as urbani-
zation (Lewis and Russel, 2015; Celino et al., 2012). However, the
concentrations found in this study were lower than the regions that
suffer intensive anthropogenic impact, such as Cauca River in Co-
lombia, which has a population of 10 million inhabitants, Gomti River
in India, Songhua River in China, Hai River Basin, which is also located
in China and Almendares River in Cuba.
The distribution pattern of PAH is shown in Fig. 2. Among all, 4-ring
PAH are the most abundant found in the winter, representing 19%–72%
of PAH in the samples, with a mean value of 58%, whereas 2–3-ring
PAH represented 5%–43% of the samples, with a mean value of 22%
and 5–6-ring PAH represented 10%–77% in the winter, with a mean
value of 20%. In the summer, the 2–3-ring PAH were the most abun-
dant, representing 61%–100% of the total found in the samples, with a
mean value of 85%. 4-ring PAH distribution ranged from 0%–39%, with
a mean value of 15%, whereas 5–6-ring PAH showed values lower than
the limit of quantification. It is also observed that the distribution for
individual PAH showed a significant difference over time. In the
summer, increased the concentrations of naphthalene and phenan-
threne, while in the winter naphthalene concentrations decreased and
fluoranthene and pyrene increased. It may reflect a petroleum source
for PAHs in the summer, since 2 and 3 ring PAH are dominant in pet-
roleum. Besides that, the tide phenomena proposed by Liu et al. (2014),
who performed a study in Zhu Jiang River, located in Pearl River Delta
in China, may influence in the distribution of PAH as a result of riverine
input as major source of PAH during ebb-tide (summer). The same
behavior was also reported by Wang et al. (2016) on a study on the
Pearl River Humen outlet, with concentrations increasing up to five
times during ebb-tides.
The pattern of PAH distributions also provide valuable information
related to their origin. It is known that a significant variation in their
distribution might indicate the presence of different PAH sources in
aquatic environments. Samples that contain high molecular weight
PAH might suggest the influence of pyrogenic sources, such as in-
complete combustion of organic matter. In contrast, the predominance
of low molecular weight PAH are usually associated with the atmo-
spheric deposition and petroleum contamination, such as crude oil and
its derivatives (Soclo et al., 2000; Kafilzadeh, 2015; Liu et al., 2014;
IPCS, 1998).
The identification of PAH sources in aquatic systems has been of
great importance for providing valuable information for regulatory
actions aiming to improve the quality of estuarine systems. PAH might
be classified as biomarkers due to their wide distribution in aquatic
systems, being associated with industrial activities, atmospheric de-
position and petroleum combustion (Soclo et al., 2000). Therefore, in-
dexes and ratios based on PAH isomers have been widely used to de-
termine their sources in aquatic systems (Yunker et al., 2002; Yan et al.,
2016; Zhang et al., 2016; Santana et al., 2015). These ratios are based
on thermodynamic factors, such as the stability of phenanthrene over
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Marine Pollution Bulletin 127 (2018) 352–358
Mean concentrations (ng g− 1) References
NA Lewis and Russel (2015)
0.0034 Celino et al. (2012)
43.4 Patrolecco et al. (2010)
2344.5 Sarria-Villa et al. (2015)
10,330.0 Malik et al. (2011)
NA Zhao et al. (2014)
1064.94 Yan et al. (2016)
2512.0 Santana et al. (2015)
18 This study
anthracene. Therefore, 7 ratios were used in this study. They were:
ƩLMW/ƩHMW, Flt/Pyr, Fl/Pyr, Phe/Ant, Flt/(Flt + Pyr), Fl/(Fl + Pyr)
and Ant/(Ant + Phe). In general, ƩLMW/ƩHMW values (LMW — low
molecular weight PAH and HMW — high molecular weight PAH) are
commonly used to distinguish pyrogenic and petrogenic sources
(Tobiszewski and Namieśnik, 2012) in which values < 1 indicate
pyrogenic sources, whereas values higher than 1 suggest petrogenic
inputs.
Flt/Pyr ratios < 1 suggest petrogenic inputs as do the values of Fl/
Pyr higher than 1 and values of Phe/Ant higher than 10. Flt/(Flt + Pyr)
ratios below 0.4 indicates petrogenic sources and values between 0.4
and 0.5 implies petroleum combustion. Flt/(Flt + Pyr) ratios above 0.5
suggests wood/grass/coal combustion (Tobiszewski and Namieśnik
2012). Fl/(Fl + Pyr) ratios below 0.5 suggests gas exhaustion and va-
lues higher than 0.5 indicate diesel emissions (Ravindra et al., 2008).
Lastly, Ant/(Ant + Phe) ratios values < 0.1 indicate petrogenic
sources, whereas values above 0.1 suggest combustion sources (Yunker
et al. 2002).
In this study, ƩLMW/ƩHMW ratios showed values < 0.4 in the
winter, except for the samples J4A, J5B and J6B, whereas Flt/Pyr and
Fl/Pyr ratios were below 1 for six samples and the Phe/Ant < 10 for
all samples, in which the predominance of pyrogenic PAH was also
observed. Furthermore, a significant correlation between the ƩLMW
and ƩHMW was observed (r = 0.878, p < 0.0001), as well for Flt/Pyr,
Fl/Pyr and Phe/Ant (r = 0.999, p < 0.0001, r = 0.881, p < 0.0001
and r = 0.944, p < 0.0001, respectively), suggesting that the PAH
found in the Japaratuba River have been affected by similar environ-
mental processes in both sampling season.
Flt/(Flt + Pyr) ratios ranged from 0.50 to 0.55, indicating pyro-
genic sources such as biomass burning and fossil fuels. Fl/(Fl + Pyr)
Ant/(Ant + Phe) ratios ranged from 0.25 to 0.52, indicating pyrogenic
sources. Therefore, pyrogenic activities are believed to be the main
source of PAH in the Japaratuba River Basin. It can be attributed to the
activities caused by the petrochemical industrial complex located in the
basin, such as the oil combustion and vehicle movement.
Principal component analysis was performed to identify the simi-
larities between ƩLMW/ƩHMW, Flt/(Flt + Pyr), Flt/Pyr, Ant/(Ant
+ Phen), Phe/Ant, salinity, pH and water sample turbidity (Fig. 3). The
first PCs (PC1 and PC2) together accounted for 61.01% (43.79% for
PC1 and 17.22% for PC2) of the total variance.
The samples in the summer have pH values higher than in the
winter, whereas a relationship between Flt/Pyr, Ant/(Ant + Phen),
Phe/Ant, turbidity and salinity was observed for the samples collected
in the winter. In general, Flt/(Flt + Pyr), Flt/Pyr, Ant/(Ant + Phen)
and Phe/Ant ratios that suggested pyrogenic sources were found in the
rainy season samples. It can happen because pyrogenic PAH from oil
combustion, for example, are carried on to the rivers. Lower molecular
weight PAH showed the highest concentrations in the dry season, in-
dicating petrogenic sources that can reflect oil spills from shipping,
recreational and fishery boat activities. Zhao et al. (2014) also observed
E. Santos et al. Marine Pollution Bulletin 127 (2018) 352–358

Fig. 2. Pattern distribution of PAH in the Japaratuba River in the winter (a) and summer (b).

that LMW PAH concentrations found in the summer were higher than in CPAH
RQ =
the winter. J1S, J7S, J8S, J9S, J11S, J12S, J13S, J14S and J16S samples CQV (1)
showed low agglomeration, indicating that the similarity between PAH
compositions from the samples have not shown significance. CPAH
RQ NCs =
The presence of carcinogenic compounds in water samples might CQV(NCs) (2)
generate a potential risk for the aquatic system, consequently affecting
the food chain. Therefore, the risk quotient associated with the ecolo- CPAH
RQ MPCs =
gical risk assessment developed by Kalf et al. (1997) and modified by CQV(MPCs) (3)
Cao et al. (2010) was used in this work, with the aim of evaluating the
CPAH represents a certain PAH concentration and CQV is associated
risk of aquatic biota's exposure to PAH in the environment (Sun et al.,
with the quality values of a certain PAH in the medium. CQV(NCs) and
2009; Cao et al., 2010; Liu et al., 2012; Yan et al., 2016; Qi et al., 2016).
CQV(MPCs) are related to the quality values of the NCs and MPCs in the
PAH minimum (NCs) and maximum permissible concentrations (MPCs)
medium (Table 2), respectively. Both values are scientifically based on
in water were determined through the Eqs. (1), (2) and (3).
risk limits. MPCs are concentrations in which the risk of harmful effects

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E. Santos et al. Marine Pollution Bulletin 127 (2018) 352–358

phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, benzo[a]anthracene,

Fig. 3. Principal component analysis (PCA) (a) physico-chemical properties (b) locations.
is considered negligible. NCs is defined as MPC/100 and represents the
combined toxicity effects due the presence of other compounds (Kalf
et al., 1997).
The negligible ecological risk determinations and maximum per-
missible concentrations were calculated for ∑PAH and defined as
RQ∑ PAH(NCs) and RQ∑ PAH(MPCs), according to the Eqs. (4) and (5).
CƩPAH
RQ∑ PAH(NCs) =
ƩCQV(NCs) (4)
benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[a]pyrene, indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene and
benzo[ghi]perylene in the winter are higher than 1.0, suggesting mod-
erate ecological risk degree, whereas in the summer, benzo[a]anthra-
cene showed the highest RQ∑ PAH(NCs) (3.781), being thus the one that
showed moderate ecological risk (RQ∑ PAH(NCs) > 1). Naphthalene and
acenaphthylene showed higher RQNCs values in the summer than in the
winter, but the ecological risk associated with these PAH has not proven
to be significant. In contrast, RQ∑ PAH(MPCs) of certain PAH ranged from
0.0 to 0.25 in the winter and from 0.0 to 0.038 in the summer, in-
dicating that Japaratuba River shows moderate ecological risk degree
for RQ∑ PAH(MPCs). Ecological risk of ƩPAH in superficial water was
considered low, with RQ∑ PAH(NCs) values between 0 and > 1 and
RQ∑ PAH(MPCs) values < 1.0 in the two sampling periods, suggesting that
the degree of ecological risk of ƩPAH is higher in the winter than it is in
the summer.
The Japaratuba river estuarine system is not only known by the
mineral and petrochemical industries playing an important role in the
local economy (Pantaleão et al. 2007). It is also an important ecological
complex, where organisms such as shellfish, crab and fish find their
place to thrive, not to mention as source of food to the riverside po-
pulation. Therefore, our finding suggests further and regulatory actions
to control the introduction of PAH in this aquatic system, especially due
to their carcinogenic, mutagenic, reproduction impairment and pho-
totoxicity (Khan, 2013; Sun et al., 2011; Yu, 2002).
As shown in Fig. 4, 4-ring PAH were the main contributor for eco-
logical risk in the environment in the winter and in the summer.
Comparing Fig. 2(a) and (b) with Fig. 4, it may be also observed that 4-
ring PAH showed the highest values of RQ∑ PAH(NCs) in the winter
(Fig. 2(a)). Although 5–6-ring PAH have shown lower concentrations
than 4-ring PAH, these values have also been affecting the aquatic
system (Fig. 4). In the summer, even though the 4-ring PAH con-
centrations are the lowest (Fig. 2(b)), RQ∑ PAH(NCs) for these PAH has the
highest values among all found in this study (Fig. 4). These results
suggest that the Japaratuba River has achieved a moderate degree of
ecological risk for high molecular weight PAH even in low concentra-
tions, showing the importance of identifying these carcinogenic and
mutagenic compounds in aquatic systems (IARC, 2012).
This study has provided valuable information on PAH distributions,
seasonal variations, sources and ecological risk assessment in super-
ficial water samples from the Japaratuba River. ∑PAH concentrations
ranged from 4 to 119 ng L− 1. The highest PAH concentration found in
this work (J1A) might be associated with the harbor near the sampling
area. PAH contamination levels found in this work were considered
lower than those found in other estuarine systems. PAH composition
was affected by the tide phenomena and the seasonal variations with a
predominance of 2-ring PAH in the summer and 4-ring PAH in the
winter. Furthermore, indexes and ratios suggested that pyrogenic
sources were the major input of PAH in all sampling areas. Principal
component analysis (PCA) showed that the highest PAH concentrations
have been directly affected by seasonal variations. In addition, PAH
concentrations showed a direct relationship with turbidity and salinity.
Ecological risk assessment showed that fluorene, phenanthrene, an-
thracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, benzo[a]anthracene, benzo[b]fluor-
anthene, benzo[a]pyrene, indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene and benzo[ghi]per-
ylene contribute to it in the winter, whereas in the summer, an
ecological risk was only observed for benzo[a]anthracene. Lastly, it is
concluded that the ecological risk in water from the Japaratuba River
was considered moderate with a higher contribution of 4-ring PAH.

CƩPAH
RQ∑ PAH(MPCs) = Acknowledgments
ƩCQV(MPCs) (5)

The mean values of RQ∑ PAH(NCs) and RQ∑ PAH(MPCs) in superficial The authors acknowledge CNPq (311379/2014-1) and CAPES/
waters from Japaratuba River in the winter and in the summer are FAPITEC-SE (23038.002752/2013-14) for students scholarships and
shown in Table 2. It is observed that RQ∑ PAH(NCs) of fluorene, research financial support.

356
E. Santos et al. Marine Pollution Bulletin 127 (2018) 352–358

Table 2
RQ∑ PAH(NCs) and RQ∑ PAH(MPCs) values of PAH in superficial water of the Japaratuba river (ng L− 1).

PAH Water (ng L− 1) Winter Summer

NCs MPCs RQ∑ PAH(NCs) RQ∑ PAH(MPCs) RQ∑ PAH(NCs) RQ∑ PAH(MPCs)

Naphthalene 12.0 1200 0.032 0.000 0.368 0.004

Acenaphthylene 0.7 70 0.298 0.003 0.318 0.003
Acenaphthene 0.7 70 0.395 0.004 0.174 0.002
Fluorene 0.7 70 1.190 0.012 0.000 0.000
Phenanthrene 3.0 300 1.540 0.015 0.913 0.009
Anthracene 0.7 70 5.248 0.052 0.000 0.000
Fluoranthene 3.0 300 1.497 0.015 0.229 0.002
Pyreno 0.7 70 6.133 0.061 0.491 0.005
Benzo[a]anthracene 0.1 10 24.986 0.250 3.781 0.038
Crysene 3.4 340 0.161 0.002 0.000 0.000
Benzo[b]fluoranthene 0.1 10 23.786 0.238 0.000 0.000
Benzo[k]fluoranthene 0.4 40 0.826 0.008 0.000 0.000
Benzo[a]pyrene 0.5 50 1.093 0.011 0.000 0.000
Indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene 0.4 40 1.841 0.018 0.000 0.000
Dibenzo(a,h)anthracene 0.5 50 0.650 0.007 0.000 0.000
Benzo[ghi]perylene 0.3 30 1.453 0.015 0.000 0.000
ƩPAH 27.2 2720 2.615 0.000 0.231 0.000

Fig. 4. Average values of RQ∑ PAH(NCs) for the individuals PAH in the summer and winter
at the Japaratuba River basin.
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