Comprehensive and comparative ecotoxicological and human risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in reef surface sediments and coastal seawaters of Iranian Coral Islands, Persian Gulf

•PAHs in seawater and reef surface sediments of the Persian Gulf have petrogenic origin.•LMW PAHs were mostly detected in reef surface sediments and seawater.•PAHs represent no adverse health effect to people which are exposed to it.•Kharg Island surrounding is the most polluted area in the Persian Gulf.•Risk of PAH exposure through water was more serious than sediment and oral intake.

The concentration and spatial distribution along with ecotoxicological risk of 30 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were investigated in the reef surface sediments (RSSs) and coastal seawater (CSW) of ten coral Islands from the Persian Gulf, Iran, in January 2015. For all sampling sites, assessment of ecological risk was undertaken using several approaches. Mean concentration of ∑30PAHs varied between 70 and 884 ng L-l with an overall mean value of 464 ng L-l in the CSW, while the RSS ranged from 274 to 1098 ng g−1 dw with a total average of 619 ng g−1 dw. The results showed a gradient in PAH concentration and toxicity estimates from the northern Hormoz site increasing to the eastern Kharg site. Most of the toxicity estimates were in the moderate range or less than risk values for damage to the marine environment. The calculated Dermal Hazard Quotient (HQs), the sum of HQs (HI) and other cancer risk values of most compounds were less than safety values at most sites. It means that the possibility of negative effects of PAHs via dermal absorption from sediments for children and adults is low. Some sampling sites studied have already been impacted with hazardous pollutants for an extended period of time and evidence from this investigation demonstrates that mixtures of PAHs may be carcinogenic to humans, especially in the western part of the Gulf.

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