Tracking Impacts Of Anthropogenic Activities On Organic Contaminants In Freshwaters Of Antarctic And China By Passive Sampling Techniques

Intensified human activities have aggravated environmental pollution,easpically by the organic contaminants.Hydrophobic organic contaminants,such as persistent organic pollutants,have the potential to cause adverse effects on humans and wildlife because of their toxicity and bioaccumulation and/or biomagnification through the aquatic foodweb.Measurement of dissolved organic contaminants in water can provide important information for predication of organic contaminants in aquatic species,as well as the magnitude of human exposure,and also present original data for the government and the local authorities to make proper measures to control the water pollution.Passive sampling techniques are easy to operate and cost-effective,hence create new opportunities for monitoring organic contaminants in aquatic environment around the world.Among the available passive samplers,polyethylene(PE)devices have been recommended as preferred alternatives for sensing organic contaminants in aquatic environment because they are biomimetic,inexpensive,and convenient for field deployment.In the present study,a self-developed passive sampler with low density polyethylene(LDPE)as sorbent phase was used to quantify dissolved organic contaminants in coastal seawater and in freshwater lakes in Antarctica and China.The spatial distributions and sources of dissolved PAHs were examined to assess the impacts of anthropogenic activities in the aquatic environment.Freely dissolved polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs)were monitored in seven inland lakes of Antarctica by a polyethylene(PE)-based passive sampling technique,with the objective of tracking human footprints.The measured concentrations of PAHs were in the range of 14–360 ng L-1 with the highest values congested around the Russian Progress II Station,which located nearby the road and the store room of fuels,indicating the significance of human activities to the loading of PAHs in Antarctica.The concentrations of PAHs in the inland lakes were in the upper part of the PAHs levels in aquatic environments from remote and background regions across the globe.The composition profiles of PAHs indicated that PAHs in the inland lakes were derived mainly from local oil spills,which was corroborated by a large number of fuel spillage reports on the ship crash or plane crash incidents in Antarctica during recent years.Clearly,local human activities,rather than long-range transport,are the dominant sources of PAHs contamination to the inland lakes.Finally,the present study demonstrates the efficacy of PE-based passive samplers for investigating PAHs in the aquatic environment of Antarctica under complex field conditions.Assessment of surface water pollution by organic pollutants is the top priority in many parts of the world,as it may provide critical information for implementing effective measures to ensure drinking water safety.This was particularly important in China,where there were no consistent data of national scale on the occurrence of any organic pollutants in the country’s water bodies.To fill the knowledge gap,we employed passive samplers to survey polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs)in 47 lakes,rivers and reservoirs in Northeast,Central and Northwest China.The dissolved ∑24PAH(sum of 24 PAHs)concentrations ranged from 0.28 to 538 ng L-1,with the highest and lowest values obtained in Southern Lake within the densely populated city of Wuhan and in the remote Nam Co Lake in Tibet,respectively.Average ∑24PAH concentrations in West,Central and East China were 5.2±4.2,9±10 and 14±16 ng L-1,respectively,with individual concentration data correlating well with the population densities in these regions.The composition profiles of PAHs showed a mixed PAH source of coal combustion,refined fossil fuel combustion and oil spills.In addition,all the concentrations of dissolved PAHs were below the water guidelines developed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency,the European Union and the government of Canada,except for anthracene in Southern Lake(27 ng L-1,which exceeded the water quality guideline of 12 ng L-1 for the protection of aquatic life by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment).Our results also demonstrated the feasibility of establishing a global aquatic network of monitoring organic pollutants in aquatic environment with the use of passive sampling techniques.