TABLE 3 



PAH levels in particular media of the South China Sea ecosystems (Station 127. September 1988). 



Medium 



Units 



Pv 



BaA BeP BbF BkF BaP IPy BPer DBA 



Water, surface ng/1 qualitativel) 



microlayer present 



170 67 



4.5 



Water, surface ng/1 



layer (0 to 0.5 m) 



150 



175 



278 



5.5 



1.6 



Benthic layer ng/1 qualitatively 290 



present 



290 



14,000 



300 



Benthic sediment u/kg 



0.46 0.14 0.15 



Neusum 



u/kg 



1.4 



1.7 



.3 0.6 0.1 



Suspension. 

 58 m 



ns/1 



4.7 



0.6 



0.9 0.06 0.01 0.07 tr. 0.07 tr. 



Suspension, 

 80 m 



ng/1 



0.6 



0.4 



0.01 



0.04 



tr. 



0.06 



Hydroids 



trace 



u/kg 



6.5 



0.6 



0.7 



The total PAH level in the suspended matter drawn from 

 depths of 58 and 80 m were 6.4 and 3.9 ng/1. respectively 

 (Table 3). The PAH mix was found to contain ten four- to 

 six-ring PAH' s in the following relative amounts (in percent by 

 weight): IPy. 65.2; BeP. 17.4; BaA and Chr. 1 1.0; BeP. 1.0; 

 BPer. 1.0: BbF. 0.9; BkF.0.2; and IPy anddibenz(a.h (anthracene 

 (DBA) were present in trace amounts. 



The sediment samples contained three five-ring 

 carcinogenic PAH's (Table 3), namely BbF. BkF. and BaP. 

 The total PAH content of the sediment did not exceed 

 0.75 (ig/kg of dry weight, the dominant constituent being BbF 

 (61.3% of the total content by weight). 



The PAH mix detected in the marine biota indicated that 

 PAH's were fairly abundant. The total PAH content of the 

 neuston of the South China Sea was 6.6 ug/kg (Table 3). The 

 mix consisted of six PAH's. Most of the total amount was made 

 up of four- and five-ring compounds (i.e.. BaA. BeP. BbF. and 

 BaP). 



It should be noted that the PAH mix detected in the marine 

 hydroids was similar to that found in the sediment (Table 3 ) and 

 consisted of strongly carcinogenic five-ring compounds, namely 

 BbF. BaP. and BkF. Their total content in the hydroids was 

 10 times that in the sediment, and the weight ratios reflected a 



larger fraction of BbF. 83.3%. The relative content of BaP and 

 BkF was 8.9% and 7.6%, respectively. The same carcinogenic 

 PAH's were detected in benthic organisms (Petrosia sponges. 

 Table 4). 



TABLE 4 



Comparative PAH levels in sponge tissues (u/kg of dry weight) 



and fish livers (u/kg of fresh weight) from the South China Sea ( 1 ) 



and Bering Sea (2). 



BPer 



2.80 



Specimens caught in the tropical Pacific. 



185 



