PAH contamination of western Irish Sea sediments

Concentrations of the sum of 15 PAHs in 22 surficial sediment samples from the western Irish Sea ranged from below 100 ng g−1 in sandy sediments to a maximum of 1422 ng g−1 in the centre of the mud basin. The concentrations are typical of coastal shelf sediments, but greater than those observed for aquatic sediments remote from known anthropogenic sources. Organic C and the % sediment <15 μm were positively correlated with ΣPAH. ΣPAH was normalised to organic C and particle size (i.e. expressed as ΣPAH/Corg and ΣPAH/%<15 μm) and significant relationships were still observed with organic C and %<15 μm. The results are discussed in the context of using organic C to normalise concentrations of PAHs to assess contamination levels in sediments.