Aromatic hydrocarbons in New York Bight polychaetes: ultraviolet fluorescence analyses and gas chromatography/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses
Polychaetes collected from New York Bight sediments near sewage sludge and harbor dredge spoil drump sites contained a series of diaromatic-tetracyclic hydrocarbons of apparent triterpenoid origin. Microbial processes in sewage sludge are a likely source of these compounds. These octahydrochrysenes were much more abundant in the polychaetes than were the fossil fuel and combustion-derived polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons which were found in the sediments, presumably because they are more available for biological uptake. If the polychaetes had been analyzed only by the spectrofluorometric techniques often used for screening samples for petroleum contamination, then grossly inaccurate results for aromatic hydrocarbon content would have been obtained. Therefore, UV fluorescence must be used in a hierarchical approach, with more sophisticated procedures available to verify the petrogenic nature of the hydrocarbons. 20 references, 4 figures, 2 tables.
- Research Organization:
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, MA
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-77EV04256
- OSTI ID:
- 6001370
- Journal Information:
- Environ. Sci. Technol.; (United States), Vol. 20:1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
AROMATICS
BIOLOGICAL ACCUMULATION
BIOLOGICAL AVAILABILITY
UPTAKE
ANNELIDS
CONTAMINATION
DREDGE SPOIL
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPY
GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY
MARINE DISPOSAL
MASS SPECTROSCOPY
NEW YORK BIGHT
SEWAGE SLUDGE
ANIMALS
ATLANTIC OCEAN
CHROMATOGRAPHY
EMISSION SPECTROSCOPY
INVERTEBRATES
MANAGEMENT
MASS TRANSFER
MID-ATLANTIC BIGHT
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
SEAS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SEWAGE
SLUDGES
SPECTROSCOPY
SURFACE WATERS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
520200* - Environment
Aquatic- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)