Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) occurrence and remediation methods

Pascale Henner (1) , Michel Schiavon , Jean-Louis Morel , Eric Lichtfouse (2)

1 IRSN - Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire
2 ASD - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are potentially mutagenic and carcinogenic substances occurring at various concentrations in atmosphere, soils, waters and sediments. PAHs, inherited both from natural and anthropogenic processes, are persistent organic pollutants (POP) due to their chemical stability and biodegradation resistance. The increase of road transportation, and of industrial and agricultural activities has led to a notable build up of PAH amounts in the environmental media. For cases of heavy soil pollution, the main remediation methods are containment, thermal desorption, incineration, and microbial degradation. Phytoremediation, a low-cost process based on microbial activation in the root zone, is a novel method under deep investigation.

Mots clés: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; PAHs; sol; atmosphere; water; sediment; petroleum; toxicity; sources; plant; remediation; incineration; extraction; biodegradation; phytoremediation

Domaines: Science des sols; Géochimie; Milieux et Changements globaux

Pascale Henner, Michel Schiavon, Jean-Louis Morel, Eric Lichtfouse. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) occurrence and remediation methods. Analusis, 1997, 25 (9-10), pp.M56-M59. ⟨hal-00193277⟩