1. Introduction
Pollution control and environmental protection have become a worldwide issue of concern. The aliphatic hydrocarbons (AHs), aromatic hydrocarbons (ArHs) such as benzene and toluene, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), including benzo[
2. Sources of hydrocarbons
The major hydrocarbon sources are petroleum and petroleum combustion; however, their emission sources can be classified as phytogenic (natural), petrogenic, and pyrogenic. To recognize pollutant type and migration, circumstances play a key role for their origin [12]. Hydrocarbons can enter to the environment via dispersion, evaporation, dissolution, adsorption, and other processes including petroleum and petroleum combustion [13, 14]. Petrogenic sources generally pollute groundwater and threaten the environment because petrogenic source products including lubricants and fuels leak from the tanks and release into the environment [15]. The USEPA specified 16 priority PAHs in a petroleum source, namely, alkylated naphthalene, dibenzothiophene, fluorene, phenanthrene, and chrysene series [16]. The pyrogenic PAHs are produced during the fuel combustion because there are suitable conditions that are high temperature and absence of oxygen. Also, pyrolysis of fat and incomplete combustion besides power plants are the most prominent hydrocarbon sources [17]. Hydrocarbons and their derivatives are a significant environmental concern due to their extensive use and toxic mechanism action, and these products are highly available in aquatic medium [18, 19]. Industrial activities and chemical plants produce PAHs, and they are considered as petrogenic and natural PAH sources [20]. During fat pyrolysis and incomplete combustion processes, anthropogenic emissions of PAHs are released into the environment [7, 8]. On the other hand, PAH sources were classified as natural, industrial, domestic, agricultural, and mobile by Ravindra et al. [21]. Hydrocarbons are usually generated by various sources including wildfires, oil seepages, volcanic activities, and other sources. Moreover, these natural hydrocarbons are mainly produced during organic material chemical conversions in microorganisms, fungi, plants, sediments, etc. [16, 22, 23, 24].
3. Health threat and environmental impact assessment
Recent studies have recognized the effects of toxicity, mutagenicity, and carcinogenicity of hydrocarbons. Increasing contamination level of these pollutants in environment especially in aquatic media is a significant environmental concern because they are used frequently and show environmental toxic effects [25, 26, 27, 28]. The USEPA and World Health Organization (WHO) classified PAHs and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) as POP groups in marine and coastal environment [29, 30]. The most of PAHs have been banned by health authorities due to their long half-life, wide distribution, and high bioaccumulation in the food chain, as well as their potential for toxicity to humans, because these compounds are highly lipid soluble and these toxic chemicals can bioaccumulate from environment to the gastrointestinal tract of mammals [25, 31]. When animals and humans are exposed to hydrocarbons, it is probable that they have various health problems because they are vulnerable and endangered against these components. Research on some hydrocarbons including benzo[
4. Conclusion and future perspectives
The main aim of this study is to provide contemporary information on a variety of hydrocarbons present in the environment, exposure routes, and their adverse effects on ecosystem. Hydrocarbon sources, human health impact, and effect on the environment have been thoroughly investigated and presented. In light of this information, generated by natural or anthropogenic sources, hydrocarbons’ mutagenic, teratogenic, and carcinogenic characteristics have caused serious concerns in today’s environment; thus, various remediation techniques are needed to remove these hazardous chemicals from the environment. Therefore, some suggestions were presented as:
All health authorities should develop standard methods for analysis of hydrocarbons and share it for all researchers.
Researchers should develop more various remediation techniques available for hydrocarbons, and they should be applicable on every aspect of the environment such as soil, water, and air.
After the treatment process, developed remediation techniques should not leave behind any second pollutant.
Ecological risk assessment should be evaluated using the risk quotient.
Techniques for removing hydrocarbons from the environment should be developed, but it is important that preventive measures can be taken to prevent these pollutants from entering the food chain and environment.
References
- 1.
Kamath R, Rentz JA, Schnoor JL, Alvarez PJJ. Phytoremediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated soils: Principles and applications. Studies in Surface Science and Catalysis. 2004; 151 :447-478 - 2.
Gkorezis P, Daghio M, Franzetti A, Van Hamme JD, Sillen W, Vangronsveld J. The interaction between plants and bacteria in the remediation of petroleum hydrocarbons: An environmental perspective. Frontiers in Microbiology. 2016; 7 :1836 - 3.
Gan S, Lau EV, Ng HK. Remediation of soils contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Journal of Hazardous Materials. 2009; 172 (2-3):532-549 - 4.
Gitipour S, Ghasemi S, Shasemzade R. Methods for treatment of PAH contaminated soils; review and comparison. In: 4th International Conference on Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development. Jamshoro, Pakistan; 2016 - 5.
Connell DW. Basic Concepts of Environmental Chemistry. Boca Raton: CRC Press; 2005 - 6.
Ince M, Yaman M. High performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for determination of benzo[ a ]pyrene in grilled meat foods. Asian Journal of Chemistry. 2012;24 (8):3391-3395 - 7.
Ince M, Kaplan Ince O, Yaman M. Optimization of an analytical method for determination of pyrene in smoked meat products. Food Analytical Methods. 2017; 10 :2060-2067 - 8.
Kaplan Ince O, Ince M. Using box–Behnken design approach to investigate benzo[ a ]anthracene formation in smoked cattle meat samples and its’ risk assessment. Journal of Food Science and Technology. 2019;56 :1287-1294 - 9.
Jin D, Jiang X, Jing X, Ou Z. Effects of concentration, head group, and structure of surfactants on the degradation of phenanthrene. Journal of Hazardous Materials. 2007; 144 (1-2):215-221 - 10.
Bansal V, Kim KH. Review of PAH contamination in food products and their health hazards. Environment International. 2015; 84 :26-38 - 11.
Ince M, Kaplan OI. An overview the toxicology of benzo( a )pyrene as biomarker for human health: A mini-review. Novel Techniques in Nutrition and Food Science. 2019;4 (2):NTNF.000580.2019 - 12.
Douglas GA, Emsbo Mattingly S, Stout SA, Uhler AD, McCarthy KJ. Chemical finger printing methods. In: Murphy BL, Morrison RD, editors. Introduction to Environmental Forensics. 2nd edition. New York, NY: Academic; 2007. pp. 311-454 - 13.
Kim D, Kumfer BM, Anastasio C, Kennedy IM, Young TM. Environmental aging of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on soot and its effect on source identification. Chemosphere. 2009; 76 (8):1075-1081 - 14.
Wang Z, Fingas M, Lambert P, Zeng G, Yang C, Hollebone B. Characterization and identification of the Detroit River mystery oil spill (2002). Journal of Chromatography. A. 2004; 1038 (1-2):201-214 - 15.
Zakaria MP, Takada H, Tsutsumi S, Ohno K, Yamada J, Kouno E, et al. Distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in rivers and estuaries in Malaysia: A widespread input of petrogenic PAHs. Environmental Science and Technology. 2002; 36 (9):1907-1918 - 16.
Stogiannidis E, Laane R. Source characterization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by using their molecular indices: An overview of possibilities. In: Whitacre D, editor. Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (Continuation of Residue Reviews). Vol. 234. Springer, Cham; 2015 - 17.
Saber D, Mauro D, Sirivedhin T. Environmental forensics investigation in sediments near a former manufactured gas plant site. Environmental Forensics. 2006; 7 (1):65-75 - 18.
Hailwood M, King D, Leoz E, Maynard R, Menichini E, Moorcroft S, Pacyna J et al. Ambient Air Pollution by Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons PAH. Position Paper Annexes. 2001 - 19.
Wickramasinghe AP, Karunaratne DGGP, Sivakanesan R. PM10-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: Concentrations, source characterization and estimating their risk in urban, suburban and rural areas in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Atmospheric Environment. 2011; 45 (16):2642-2650 - 20.
Osman KT. Soils, Principles, Properties and Management. Netherlands: Springer; 2013 - 21.
Ravindra K, Mittal AK, Grieken R. Health risk assessment of urban suspended particulate matter with special reference to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: A review. Reviews on Environmental Health. 2001; 16 (3):169-190 - 22.
Boll ES, Christensen JH, Holm PE. Quantification and source identification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediment, soil, and water spinach from Hanoi, Vietnam. Journal of Environmental Monitoring. 2008; 10 (2):261-269 - 23.
Bakhtiari AR, Zakaria MP, Yaziz MI, Lajis MNH, Bi X, Rahim MCA. Vertical distribution and source identification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in anoxic sediment cores of Chini Lake, Malaysia: Perylene as indicator of land plant-derived hydrocarbons. Applied Geochemistry. 2009; 24 (9):1777-1787 - 24.
Tobiszewski M, Namieśnik J. PAH diagnostic ratios for the identification of pollution emission sources. Environmental Pollution. 2012; 162 :110-119 - 25.
Haffner D, Schecter A. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs): A primer for practicing clinicians. Current Environmental Health Reports. 2014; 1 :123-131 - 26.
Long M, Bonefeld- Jørgensen EC. Dioxin-like activity in environmental and human samples from Greenland and Denmark. Chemosphere. 2012; 89 :919-928 - 27.
Tavakoly Sany SB, Hashim R, Rezayi M, Salleh A, Rahman MA, Safari O, et al. Human health risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from consumption of blood cockle and exposure to contaminated sediments and water along the Klang Strait, Malaysia. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 2014; 84 :268-279 - 28.
U.S.EPA. EPA’s Reanalysis of Key Issues Related to Dioxin Toxicity and Response to NAS Comments. Vol. 1. Washington, DC; 2012 - 29.
Tavakoly Sany SB, Hashim R, Salleh A, Rezayi M, Mehdinia A, Safari O. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in coastal sediment of Klang Strait, Malaysia: Distribution pattern, risk assessment and sources. PLoS One. 2014; 9 (4):e94907 - 30.
WHO State of the science of endocrine disrupting chemicals 2012. United Nations Environment Programme and the World Health Organization. Geneva; 2013 - 31.
Ahmadzadeh S, Kassim A, Rezayi M, Rounaghi GH. Thermodynamic study of the complexation of p-isopropylcalix [6] arene with Cs+ cation in dimethylsulfoxide-acetonitrile binary media. Molecules. 2011; 16 :8130-8142 - 32.
Liu K, Han W, Pan WP, Riley JT. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emissions from a coal-fired pilot FBC system. Journal of Hazardous Materials. 2001; 84 (2-3):175-188 - 33.
Samanta SK, Singh OV, Jain RK. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: Environmental pollution and bioremediation. Trends in Biotechnology. 2002; 20 (6):243-248 - 34.
Rezayi M, Heng LY, Abdi MM, Noran NM, Esmaeili C. A thermodynamic study on the complex formation between tris (2-pyridyl) methylamine (tpm) with Fe+2, Fe+3, Cu+2 and Cr+3 cations in water, acetonitrile binary solutions using the conductometric method. International Journal of Electrochemical Science. 2013; 8 :6922-6932 - 35.
Saadati N, Abdullah MP, Zakaria Z, Tavakoly Sany SB, Rezayi M, Hassonizadeh H. Limit of detection and limit of quantification development procedures for organochlorine pesticides analysis in water and sediment matrices. Chemistry Central Journal. 2013; 7 :1-10 - 36.
Tavakoly Sany SB, Hashim R, Rezayi M, Salleh A, Safari O. A review of strategies to monitor water and sediment quality for a sustainability assessment of marine environment. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 2014; 21 :813-821 - 37.
Law RJ, Bersuder P, Barry J, Deaville R, Reid RJ, Jepson PD. Chlorobiphenyls in the blubber of harbour porpoises ( Phocoena phocoena ) from the UK: Levels and trends 1991-2005. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 2010;60 :470-473 - 38.
Rezayi M, Karazhian R, Abdollahi Y, Narimani L, Sany SBT, Ahmadzadeh S, et al. Titanium (III) cation selective electrode based on synthesized tris(2pyridyl) methylamine ionophore and its application in water samples. Scientific Reports. 2014; 4 :4664 - 39.
Tavakoly Sany SB, Salleh A, Sulaiman AH, Sasekumar A, Tehrani G, Rezayi M. Distribution characteristics and ecological risk of heavy metals in surface sediments of West Port, Malaysia. Environmental Protection Engineering. 2012; 38 :139-155 - 40.
Jazani RK, Tehrani GM, Hashim R. TPH-PAH contamination and benthic health in the surface sediments of Bandar-E-imam Khomeini-Northwest of the Persian Gulf. International Journal of Innovative Science, Engineering and Technology. 2013; 2 :213-225 - 41.
Tehrani GM, Sany SBT, Hashim R, Salleh A. Predictive environmental impact assessment of total petroleum hydrocarbons in petrochemical wastewater effluent and surface sediment. Environment and Earth Science. 2016; 75 :177 - 42.
Gitipour S, Sorial GA, Ghasemi S, Bazyari M. Treatment technologies for PAH-contaminated sites: A critical review. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 2018; 190 :546 - 43.
EHSC Environmental risk assessment. Environment, Health and Safety Committee [EHSC] of the Royal Society of Chemistry. 2008