Evaluation of chromatographic and spectroscopic methods for the analysis of petroleum-derived compounds in the environment

Geochemical markers of sedimentary organic matter in Todos os Santos Bay, Bahia - Brazil. Indicators of sources and preservation

Natural stable isotopes, such as carbon (C) and nitrogen (N), are modern tools to assess geochemical processes. C and N in organic matter can carry fingerprints of their hydrologic flows and sedimentary processes, including any anthropogenic modification on the natural system. This study focuses on the determination of aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and isotopic ratio in the sediment of Todos os Santos Bay (TSB). The isotopic results of the total organic matter indicate varied contribution marine and terrigenous. Typical rates of PAHs mainly indicate a pyrogenic source and mixture between pyrogenic and petrogenic sources. Typical ratios for the n-alkanes indicate the presence of petroleum hydrocarbons. The isotopic composition of n-alkanes suggests a mixture of sources, with the possible contribution of petrogenic.

Analytical method for determining polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon pollutants using ultrafast liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection and the recent column packed with the new 5 μm Kinetex-C18 core-shell particles

An ultrafast liquid chromatography method with fluorescence detection has been optimized for the determination of 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using a recent Kinetex-C18 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm). This column has been recently packed with a new brand of porous shell particles with an average particle size of 5 μm to separate various compounds by liquid chromatography, operating at very low pressure. After optimization of the analytical procedure, the separation of the 15 PAHs in spiked tap water samples was achieved without coeluted products in 21.5 min at 16 °C using an aqueous/acetonitrile mobile phase under gradient concentrations with a very low flow rate (0.7–1.0 mL min−1) and low pressure values (870–1590 psi = 60–110 bar), all of these conditions being interesting from an economic point of view. The synchronization of wavelength time changing and the elution time of each compound was performed to avoid baseline deviation. The validation of the whole of the experimental procedure was conducted taking into consideration the following parameters: calibration curve, linearity, limits of detection and quantification, accuracy, sensitivity, precision, and repeatability of the retention time for each PAH. The proposed analytical procedure presented adequate linearity over a concentration range from 0.025 to 10 μg L−1 with a correlation coefficient better than 0.9980. The repeatability (relative standard deviation in percentage, n = 5) of the retention time for the different PAHs investigated ranged from 0.03% to 0.34% and the limit of detection was under 0.6 μg L−1 for most PAHs (excepted for indeno[1,2,3-c,d]pyrene, limit of detection = 1.71 μg L−1). The intraday and interday precisions were below 4%. The recovery of PAH in spiked tap water samples was variable, ranging from 96% to 109%, with relative standard deviation between 0.2% and 4.8%, depending on PAHs and their concentration levels.

Identification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil by constant energy synchronous fluorescence detection

In this paper, a novel method of constant energy synchronous fluorescence (CESF) was proposed to the simultaneous determination of different polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in a mixture of 16 components. When different appropriate intervals of the constant energy (Deltanu=1400 or 4800cm(-1)) were chosen during constant energy synchronous scanning, 13 PAHs could be identified and quantified by the corresponding synchronous spectra. Results show that their linear relations are fine and the limits of detection (LODs) were between 0.2 and 7.6ngml(-1). Then the application of CESF method proposed in the analysis of the real soil samples under the optimum conditions indicated that 11 PAHs could be identified and the total concentration of PAHs in a real soil sample is 5.1microg g(-1), most of PAHs in the soil samples had three or four rings. Recoveries of these PAHs were from 70.9 to 121.4% in most cases. This CESF method is a simple, rapid, sensitive method with high resolution and also suitable to analyze the complex mixtures of PAHs in other environmental samples.

Sources of hydrocarbons in sediments of the Bay of Fort de France (Martinique)

Sedimentary hydrocarbons have been studied quantitatively and qualitatively in 16 stations of the Bay of Fort de France (Martinique). Hydrocarbon levels ranged from 54 to 1045 mg kg(-1) sed. dry weight. Origin of hydrocarbons are multiple: biogenic (terrestrial inputs), pyrolytic (residues of natural or anthropogenic combustions), diagenetic and anthropogenic (petroleum contamination). Generally high levels of hydrocarbons are not associated to a petroleum contamination. The main source of hydrocarbons in the mangrove coastal zones of the Bay of Fort de France seems to be the early diagenetic degradation products of 3-oxytriterpenoids. Excepted two stations, petroleum contamination is very low or absent.

Evaluation of a cleanser for petroleum-contaminated skin

BACKGROUND

Extremity injuries contaminated with petroleum products pose clinical dilemmas. This project was designed to evaluate the efficacy of a dioctyl sulfosuccinate (DS) solution for cleansing petroleum-contaminated skin.

METHODS

One hundred Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to a contamination protocol followed by a cleansing procedure. Four petroleum contaminants and five cleansing solutions were selected. The protocol consisted of shaving, initial punch biopsy, contamination, precleansing punch biopsy, standardized scrub protocol, and postcleansing punch biopsy. Biopsy samples were analyzed for petroleum residue using fluorometry.

RESULTS

The 10% DS solution had the highest reduction of crude oil, grease, and tar: 99.6 +/- 0.4% (mean +/- SD) contaminant reduction for crude oil, 99.8 +/- 0.2% for grease, and 99.8 +/- 0.2% for tar. The other cleansers showed less efficacy (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Concentrated DS appears to be significantly more effective at cleaning petroleum products from skin than the commonly chosen surgical and commercial cleansers.

ATSDR evaluation of health effects of chemicals. IV. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs): understanding a complex problem

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of chemicals that are formed during the incomplete burning of coal, oil, gas, wood, garbage, or other organic substances, such as tobacco and charbroiled meat. There are more than 100 PAHs. PAHs generally occur as complex mixtures (for example, as part of products such as soot), not as single compounds. PAHs are found throughout the environment in the air, water, and soil. As part of its mandate, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) prepares toxicological profiles on hazardous chemicals, including PAHs (ATSDR, 1995), found at facilities on the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) National Priorities List (NPL) and which pose the most significant potential threat to human health, as determined by ATSDR and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These profiles include information on health effects of chemicals from different routes and durations of exposure, their potential for exposure, regulations and advisories, and the adequacy of the existing database. Assessing the health effects of PAHs is a major challenge because environmental exposures to these chemicals are usually to complex mixtures of PAHs with other chemicals. The biological consequences of human exposure to mixtures of PAHs depend on the toxicity, carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic, of the individual components of the mixture, the types of interactions among them, and confounding factors that are not thoroughly understood. Also identified are components of exposure and health effects research needed on PAHs that will allow estimation of realistic human health risks posed by exposures to PAHs. The exposure assessment component of research should focus on (1) development of reliable analytical methods for the determination of bioavailable PAHs following ingestion, (2) estimation of bioavailable PAHs from environmental media, particularly the determination of particle-bound PAHs, (3) data on ambient levels of PAHs metabolites in tissues/fluids of control populations, and (4) the need for a critical evaluation of current levels of PAHs found in environmental media including data from hazardous waste sites. The health effects component should focus on obtaining information on (1) the health effects of mixtures of PAHs particularly their noncarcinogenic effects in humans, and (2) their toxicokinetics. This report provides excerpts from the toxicological profile of PAHs (ATSDR, 1995) that contains more detailed information.