PAH contamination of western Irish Sea sediments

Concentrations of the sum of 15 PAHs in 22 surficial sediment samples from the western Irish Sea ranged from below 100 ng g(-1) in sandy sediments to a maximum of 1422 ng g(-1) in the centre of the mud basin. The concentrations are typical of coastal shelf sediments, but greater than those observed for aquatic sediments remote from known anthropogenic sources. Organic C and the % sediment <15 pm were positively correlated with SigmaPAH. SigmaPAH was normalised to organic C and particle size (i.e. expressed as SigmaPAH/C-org and SigmaPAH/%<15 mum) and significant relationships were still observed with organic C and %<15 mum. The results are discussed in the context of using organic C to normalise concentrations of PAHs to assess contamination levels in sediments. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.