Influence of landuse on distribution and concentration of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Kelantan, Malaysia.

An extensive soil survey was carried out to study the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) contaminations in 291 soil samples collected throughout Kota Bharu District and 54 soil samples was from UMK Jeli area. Results demonstrated that there was low levels of average Total PAHs contaminations in Kelantan ( ∑16 US EPA PAHs = 7.97±0.75 µg/kg dw) for all land uses (urban area, highway area, agricultural area, and industrial area). The content and type of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soils from Kota Bharu District and upland areas in UMK Jeli were determined using High Performance Liquid Chromatograph to Photodiode Array Detector (HPLC-PDA). The distribution map of total PAHs of Kelantan were obtained as a contour plot using a geographical information system. The overall distribution of PAHs was found to be closely related to the pollution sources and the type of land uses. The mean highest concentrations in Kota Bharu District were found in soils sampled near road site in Kota Bharu with total PAHs 5.08µg/kg, followed by Pengkalan Chepa 4.29µg/kg and Banggu at 3.28µg/kg. The area in UMK, Jeli District was the highest mean of total PAHs 27.44µg/kg. The trends of the concentration of the major PAHs found in present study were Acenaphthylene>Fluorene>Naphthalene at industrial site, Acenaphthylene>Fluorene>Acenaphthene at roadside and Acenaphthylene>Fluorene>Acenaphthene at residential and agricultural sites. In all the sites Acenaphthylene, Fluorene and Acenaphthene were the predominant compounds. Special PAHs compound ratios, such as Phenanthrene and Anthracene [R1=Ant/(Ant+Phe)], Fluoroanthene and Pyrene [R2=Fla/(Fla+Pyr)], and Benzo(a)anthracene and Chryene [R3=Baa/(Baa+Chy)] were calculated to evaluate the PAHs origin. The R1 ratios in Kelantan samples ranged from 0.06 to 0.87, R2 ratios from 0.33 to 0.93 and R3 ratios ranged from 0.06 to 0.32. It can be seen that there was a strong combustion sources from traffic emission influence on soil PAHs in all soils sample in Kelantan. The study also confirm that PAHs was significantly correlated with TOC, SOM and Soil Textures with seasonal variation and different soil depth interval in Kelantan.