Occurrence and Risk Assessment of Polycyclic Cyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and Their Nitrated Derivatives (NPAHs) at Nile River and Esmailia Canal in Egypt

Fresh water samples at three sites in Nile River (NR1, NR2 and NR3) and two sites in Esmailia canal (E1 and E2) in Egypt were collected. Concentrations of soluble and particulate phases of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and nitrated derivatives (NPAHs) were determined by using HPLC with florescence detection and HPLC with chemilumnecence detection, respectively. The total average concentrations of the fifteen PAHs having two to six rings at NR1, NR2 and NR3 in summer and winter seasons were ranged from 2.47 × 10 3 to 3.20 × 10 3 , 0.99 × 10 3 to 1.27 × 10 3 and 1.19 × 10 3 to 1.43 × 10 3 ng/l, respectively, while those at E1 and E2 were ranged from 6.17 × 10 3 to 7.55 × 10 3 and 1.27 × 10 4 to 1.73 × 10 4 ng/l, respectively. The concentrations of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) at Nile River and Esmailia canal sites were varied from 26.4 to 83.2 ng/l. The total average concentrations of eight NPAHs having three to five rings at the same sites in summer and winter seasons were varied from 7.5 to 11.2, 5.2 to 7.0 and 5.7 to 8.0 ng/l at NR1, NR2 and NR3 respectively, and varied from 7.6 to 11.8 and 16.0 to 20.0 ng/l at E1 and E2 respectively. The major sources of PAHs and NPAHs in water environment were discussed based on the most widely used diagnostic ratios of PAH pairs and mono-NPAHs to their parent PAHs, indicating a mixed contamination sources with the predominance of petrogenic source origin at Nile River sites, and pyrogenic source origin at Esmailia canal sites in both summer and winter seasons. BaP-equivalent carcinogenic power (BaPE) values for PAHs at Nile River and Esmailia canal sites in summer and winter seasons were varied from 19.9 to 81.3 ng/l, and from 87.7 to 378.9 ng BaPE /l, respectively. The indirect mutagenicity values calculated by PAH concentrations at Nile River and Esmailia canal sites in both seasons were varied from 26.4 to 83.2 and from 179.5 to 538.1 revertants/l, respectively. The direct mutagenicity at Nile River and Esmailia canal sites were varied from 14.0 to 25.9 and from 22.3 to 49.8 revertants/l, respectively in both seasons. The tendency that carcinogenicity and mutagenicity at Esmailia canal sites were much higher than those at Nile River sites was in accordance with the fact that Esmailia canal is more polluted with PAHs and NPAHs than Nile River. IJSE International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Volume 6, Issue 8, August-2015 1984 ISSN 2229-5518 IJSER © 2015 http://www.ijser.org