Title: Contamination and exposure profiles of priority Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in groundwater in a semi-arid region in India

Authors: Amit Masih, Renuka Saini, Ajay Taneja

Addresses: Department of Chemistry, School of Chemical Sciences, St. Johns College, Agra 282002, India. ' Department of Chemistry, School of Chemical Sciences, St. Johns College, Agra 282002, India. ' Department of Chemistry, School of Chemical Sciences, St. Johns College, Agra 282002, India

Abstract: The concentration of 13 PAHs in groundwater was measured at 12 locations of Agra. The mean concentration of TPAH in all samples was 31.86 ng L⁻¹ and it ranges from 13.2 ng L⁻¹ to 64.3 ng L⁻¹. The 4-ring and 5-ring PAHs were found to be dominant in the groundwater of Agra region having 38.6% and 26.4% of the TPAH. The carcinogenic potency was estimated and it was found 2.7 ng L⁻¹. Univariate Pearson correlation matrix shows a good correlation among all PAHs except B(a)P. The levels of PAHs in the groundwater can help in environment risk assessment of this area.

Keywords: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; PAH concentrations; groundwater; semiarid regions; India; HPLC; environmental risk assessment.

DOI: 10.1504/IJW.2008.018152

International Journal of Water, 2008 Vol.4 No.1/2, pp.136 - 147

Published online: 04 May 2008 *

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