International Journal of Environmental Science and Development

Abstract—In order to study PAHs concentration in Ark clam Barbatia helblingii, in Bushehr coastal zone, samples of clams was collected from five stations. Following digestion of clam's soft tissues in methanol, their PAHs content was extracted with hexane solvent and then measured by HPLC. Result showed that the total PAHs concentration in samples taken from Rafael, Sheghab, Abshirinkon, Lian and Helyleh were 634.7, 476.7, 129.5, 452.5 and 415.0 ng g-1(dw) respectively. Significant difference was observed between tPAHs concentration in different stations (P<0.05). Maximum and minimum concentration of PAHs was measured in clams collected from Rafael and Abshirinkon respectively. Among different PAHs compounds, 3 rings PAHs were the most abundant. The mean concentration of tPAHs in clams collected from Bushehr coast was 421.86 ng g-1. PAHs contamination in Bushehr originates from both pyrolitic and petrogenic sources. Compared to other studies from other parts of the world, the level of contamination was moderately high.

Index Terms—Barbatia helblingii, Bushehr, PAHs, Persian Gulf.

Alireza Safahieh is Assistant professor at Department of Marine Biology, Faculty of Oceanography and Marine Sciences, Khorramshahr University of Marine Science and Technology (e-mail: safahieh@hotmail.com).
Masoomeh Mahmoodi is M. Sc. in the field of Marine Pollution from Khorramshahr University of Marine Science and Technology (e-mail: masoome.mahmodi@yahoo.com).
Yadollah Nikpoor and Kamal Ghanemi are Assistant professor at Department of Marine Chemistry, Faculty of Oceanography and Marine Sciences, Khorramshahr University of Marine Science and Technology.

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Cite: Alireza Safahieh, Masoomeh Mahmoodi, Yadollah Nikpoor and Kamal Ghanemi, "PAHs Concentration in Ark clam (Barbatia helblingii) from South Persian Gulf, Bushehr, Iran," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 2, no. 5, pp. 394-398, 2011.