Both Cycloclasticus spp. and Pseudomonas spp. as PAH-degrading bacteria in the Seine estuary (France).

Like other highly urbanized and industrialized estuaries, the Seine estuary (France) has, for decades, received high inputs of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In order to estimate the bioremediation potentials and to identify the bacterial species involved in hydrocarbon degradation, we used microcosms containing seawater from the Seine estuary supplemented with either naphthalene, phenanthrene, fluorene or pyrene. In the microcosms enriched with naphthalene or phenanthrene, hydrocarbon biodegradation was significant within 9 weeks (43% or 46%, respectively), as shown by analyses in GC-MS.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon transport processes on the scale of a flood event in the rural watershed of Le Bebec, France.

Transport processes of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated in a rural watershed in France, which led to new quantitative results on the scale of a flood event. For that purpose, principal components analysis (PCA) combined with signal decomposition of PAH Breakthrough curves were used. The results obtained by PCA enabled us to distinguish (i) the transport of low molecular weight PAHs in dissolved form and (ii) the transport of high molecular weight PAHs in particulate form.

PAHs in the bulk atmospheric deposition of the Seine river basin: source identification and apportionment by ratios, multivariate statistical techniques and scanning electron microscopy.

The origin of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) contamination in bulk atmospheric deposition at two sites of the Seine estuary, one urban and one industrial, has been investigated. The PAH profiles indicate that PAHs mainly have a pyrolytic origin, both in urban and industrial areas. PAH sources vary during the year with an increase of high molecular weight PAH proportions (especially for carcinogenic PAHs) in winter, that means an increase of combustion processes such as domestic heating.

Using passive air samplers to assess urban-rural trends for persistent organic pollutants and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. 2. Seasonal trends for PAHs, PCBs, and organochlorine pesticides.

This is the second of two papers demonstrating the feasibility of using passive air samplers to investigate persistent organic pollutants along an urban-rural transect in Toronto. The first paper investigated spatial trends for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs). This second paper investigates the seasonality of air concentrations for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), PCBs, and OCPs along this transect.