Characterization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and engineered nanomaterial in surface water environment

A vast number of synthetic organic and inorganic chemicals are constantly being developed for industrial, domestic, and agricultural applications. Some of these chemicals present adverse health effects, even at trace levels. Such chemicals when introduced to environmental subsystems including surface water are termed as contaminants of concern. Examples include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and engineered nanomaterials (ENMs). While PAHs have been detected in significant quantities in marine sediments, their presence in fresh surface water system sediments is yet to be established. Furthermore, there is lack of cohesive research effort aimed at characterizing the ENMs in surface waters. This can be due to the lack of analytical techniques for characterizing ECCs in surface water environmental samples. The current study introduces thermal desorption extraction techniques for characterizing PAHs in urban creek sediments creeks. The study suggests potential use of the approach characterizing ENMs.