Occurrence and risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil from the Tiefa coal mine district, Liaoning, China

In order to evaluate soil-associated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) pollution from coal mine activities in Tiefa coal mine, Northeast China, 16 PAHs identified as priority pollutants by US Environmental Pollution Agency were determined in mining zone soil (MZS), agricultural soil (AS), local lake bank soil (LBS), a vertical soil profile and three coal gangue samples. The total concentration of 16 PAHs (defined as Sigma(16)PAH, dry weight) in surface soil ranged from 5.1 to 5642.3 ng g(-1), with an arithmetic mean of 1118.3 ng g(-1). Sigma(16)PAH values at the sites from MZS are significantly higher than those found in AS and LBS. The vertical distribution of PAHs indicated that these compounds can penetrate the deeper layers of the soil, especially the low-rings compounds. A complex of petrogenic origin and pyrolytic sources was found within the study area, as suggested by the isomeric ratios of PAHs. According to principal component analysis (PCA), four factors were identified in the source contribution, including coal combustion, unburned coal particulates, coal gangue and vehicular emissions. The degree of contamination and the PAH toxicity assessment suggested that the soils of the study area have been seriously polluted and pose a high potential health risk.