PAH Biodegradation, Turnover, and Ambient Concentration in Surface Sediments of Coaster's Harbor and Narragansett Bay

摘要

PAH concentrations in the Coaster's Harbor site were generally low when compared with surface sediment data from other estuaries. The highest PAH concentration in the NRL survey was found at station 2, which was in a ship anchorage, whereas the station closest to the firefighting training area (11) had among the lowest concentrations found. Low naphthalene concentrations in all samples suggest that the PAH source is not likely to be from a fresh spill or groundwater intrusion of dilute unweathered product. Determining the mass of PAH biodegradation rates were rapid given the low ambient concentrations, suggesting the current surface water inputs of PAH would likely be metabolized in less than 100 days.