Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in surface waters of Alessandria District, South Eastern Piedmont (Italy)

Journal Article · Thu Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1992 · Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00196298· OSTI ID:35674

Trova, C; Cossa, G; Gandolfo, G ^[1]

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1. Laboratorio di Sanita Pubblica, Alessandria (Italy)

Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous environmental pollutants. Because of the high toxicity of some polycyclic compounds, such as benzopyrenes, the determination of their levels in air, water, soil and aquatic organisms was the object of several papers. Anthropogenic pyrolitic and combustion processes, related to industrial plants, domestic heating, automobile traffic, are the major sources of these compounds; from these sources they enter atmospheric environment where their concentration is reduced by scavenging during precipitation events: rain, snow and fog in urban areas usually show high contents of PAHs. Dry and wet atmospheric polluted depositions effluents transport appreciable amounts of PAHs to aquatic environment, where they are rapidly taken up and accumulated by both fish and shellfish. Alessandria District, in South-Eastern Piedmont (Italy), lies in the middle of Torino-Milano-Genova industrial area: in addition to local sources, a relatively long range transport of polluted air masses may conduct to this region atmospheric contaminants, such as polynuclear compounds, that can enter fluvial environments through meteoric precipitation. The object of this work was to evaluate PAH content in surface waters flowing across the described territory. Samplings were carried on during winter season, when the concentration of these pollutants usually reaches the highest levels. 8 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs.

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• OSTI ID: 35674
• Journal Information: Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Journal Name: Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 49; ISSN 0007-4861; ISSN BECTA6
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
CONTAMINATION
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ITALY
LONG-RANGE TRANSPORT
POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
SURFACE WATERS