Persistent organic pollutants profile of sediments from marine protected areas: the Northern Persian Gulf

Abstract

Abstract Marine protected areas (MPAs) are one of the policy tools to support marine biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of marine resources. The distribution, sources, and ecological risk assessment of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs), total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), trace metals, and metalloids in sediments of MPAs in the northern Persian Gulf were evaluated for the first time in this study. The Σ16PAHs ranged from 4.65 to 20.86 µg/kg dw. The molecular ratios and ring's pattern of PAHs suggested a mixed origin with a predominance of pyrogenic sources. The TPHs concentration varied from 5.21 to 17.90 µg/g dw. Ecological risk assessment suggested that sediment samples in Bushehr Province’s MPAs can be categorized as medium risk. The mean concentration of ∑18PCB was 0.345–0.419 ng/g dw, and the main components correspond to PCB-77, PCB-105, PCB-81, PCB-101, and PCB-114. The mean concentration of As, Co, Cr, Ni, V, Mg, Pb, Zn, Cu, Al, and Fe varied from 4.79–9.69, 2–12, 39–142, 18–90, 15–58, 184–425, 7-459, 6-424, 4–20 µg/g dw, 0.75–4.12%, and 0.35–1.62%, respectively. The results of this study provided the background information on the extent of POPs contamination in the sediment and highlighted the need to further control pollution in MPAs.