Persistent toxic substances in remote lake and coastal sediments from Svalbard, Norwegian Arctic: Levels, sources and fluxes

Liping Jiao, Gene J. Zheng, Tu Binh Minh, Bruce Richardson, Liqi Chen, Yuanhui Zhang, Leo W. Yeung, James C.W. Lam, Xulin Yang, Paul K.S. Lam*, Ming H. Wong

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

128 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Surface sediments from remote lakes and coastal areas from Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, Norwegian Arctic were analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs). Relatively high levels of PAHs were encountered from several lakes from Ny-Ålesund, which were within the range of levels reported for European high mountain lakes and some urban/industrialized areas in the world, pointing to the role of remote Arctic lakes as potential reservoir of semi-volatile organic compounds. Specific patterns of PBDEs were observed, showing higher concentrations of lower brominated compounds such as BDE-7, 17 and 28. Estimated surface sediment fluxes of PAHs in Ny-Ålesund remote lakes were similar to those observed for some European high mountain lakes. The current PAH levels in sediments from three lakes exceeded Canadian sediment quality guidelines, suggesting the presence of possible risks for aquatic organisms and the need for further studies. Crown

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1342-1351
Number of pages10
JournalEnvironmental Pollution
Volume157
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2009

Scopus Subject Areas

  • Toxicology
  • Pollution
  • Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

User-Defined Keywords

  • Accumulation patterns
  • Fluxes
  • PAHs
  • PBDEs
  • Remote lake sediments

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