Study on the behavior of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) in the sediment of a tidal flat after a fire breaking out nearby

为了研究2011年3月11日附近炼油厂火灾对滩涂环境的污染，我们测定了滩涂沉积物中包括苯并[a]芘在内的8种多环芳烃(PAHs)的浓度，并研究了PAH浓度随时间的变化。火灾发生一个月后，我们收集了沉积物，并测量了多环芳烃的浓度，范围从1.7到28.4微克/公斤干。浓度是火灾发生前的3倍左右。事故发生一年后，我们再次采样和测量：浓度范围为1.0~5.1微克/千克干重，从而证实潮滩中的多环芳烃浓度曾一度上升，但随后在大约一年的时间里逐渐下降到与火灾前相似的水平。

To research the environmental contamination of a tidal flat, caused by a fire in a neighboring refinery on March 11, 2011, we measured the concentration of eight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) including benzo [a] pyrene in the sediment of the tidal flat and investigated the change in the PAH concentrations with the lapse of time. After a month from the fire, we collected for the sediment and measured the PAH concentrations, which ranged from 1.7 to 28.4 ug/kg-dry. The concentrations were about 3 times as high as those before the outbreak of the fire. After one year from the accident, we repeated the sampling and measurement : the concentrations ranged from 1.0 to 5.1 ug/kg-dry.Therefore it was confirmed that the PAH concentrations in the tidal flat increased once, but then gradually decreased down to a level similar to that before the fire over about a year.