Profile, source and ecological risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) along the Mauritanian Atlantic Coast, unveiling the silent menace.

The Mauritanian Atlantic coast is a vital economic and environmental region, currently facing increasing anthropogenic pressures, leading to pollution such as PAHs contamination which threatens its ecological integrity and economic value. To assess this pollution the coast was divided into 4 zones: 2 anthropogenically stressed (LBZ and PNkt) and 2 unstressed (PNBA and PDlt); next, 16EPA-PAHs concentrations were determined in sediments and bio-tissues. In sediments, the highest 16EPA-PAHs concentrations, as mean per zone, were found in PNkt (21.1 μg/kg) and LBZ (20.8 μg/kg) zones, while the lowest PAHs concentrations were in PNBA (15.0 μg/kg) and PDlt (14.6 μg/kg). Additionally, the carcinogenic and ecological risk potentials were higher in the PNkt and LBZ zones, 10.1-10.6 for carcinogenic potential and 0.010-0.017 for ecological risk. These results highlight a high PAHs-pollution due to growing anthropogenic pollution pending on this vulnerable region, which should be taken into consideration for the sustainable management of Mauritania's coastal resource.