Sediment Quality Assessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Lake Edku, Egypt | ||
| Egyptian Journal of Soil Science | ||
| Article 8, Volume 65, Issue 2, June 2025 | ||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/ejss.2025.355665.1977 | ||
| Authors | ||
| Basma Mohamed Omar* 1; Mohammed El Sayed Nassar2; Mohamed Abdel-Aziz Okbah3; Maie Ibrahim El-Gammal1 | ||
| 1Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Damietta University, New Damietta City, Damietta, Egypt. | ||
| 2Environmental Sciences Department, Faculty of Science, Damietta University, New Damietta City, Egypt | ||
| 3Marine Chemistry Lab, Marine Environment Division, National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, NIOF, Cairo, Egypt. | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Contamination of coastal lakes in Egypt is of great public concern due to its potential risk to ecosystem and human health. Lake Edku is one of the most significant lakes in northern Egypt that serving various purposes, including water supply, food security, recreational activities, and industrial applications. Contamination of lakes sediments with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons degrades water quality and affects the aquatic organisms, which in turn impacts human and the health of the whole aquatic ecosystem in the long term. Therefore, sixteen sediment samples were collected from Lake Edku through the spring and summer seasons of year 2022 and investigated to ascertain the concentrations, sources, toxicity, and ecological risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The concentrated urban pollutant discharge sources were reflected in the lower concentrations of total PAHs in the northern region compared to the southern region. Results revealed the predominance of 3 and 4 PAH rings in the collected samples. Low molecular weight LMW PAHs were dominant, with a percentage of 70% during spring and 67% during summer. Ant/ (Ant + Phe) ratio results showed that the source of PAHs in sediment is related to petroleum sources during spring and summer. While, BaA/BaA/ (BaA + Chry) ratio shows the sources of burning coal, grass, and wood. For the majority of stations, InP/ (InP + BgP) and Flu/ (Flu + Pyr) ratios indicated fuel combustion for most stations. The ratio of High molecular weight HMW to LMW suggested a petrogenic input. The results indicated a diversity of pollution sources of PAH, and according to toxicity and ecological risk assessment the recorded concentrations of PAHs in the sediment samples do not represent any potential environmental harm. The results of the present study can pave the way for managing, reducing pollution levels, and preventing environmental deterioration in Lake Edku. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Sediment quality guidelines; Toxicity and ecological risk; Coastal lakes; Food security | ||
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