ANTHROPOGENIC CONTAMINANTS IN THE WATER AND SEDIMENTS OF URBANIZED LAGOONS OF LOS ANGELES

The lagoons in urbanized regions are under great stress due to urbanization and pollution discharge. We investigated the water and sediment qualities of two lagoons in southern California, located near Los Angeles, including Marina Del Rey and Ballona lagoons in wet and dry seasons. We performed a complete chemical analysis of micro organic pollutants such as polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) present in lagoons water and sediment. In this study, we focused on the role of storm drainage runoff systems, where the excess polluted water finds their way into water and sediment of lagoons. So, we took water and sediment samples in the areas close to storm runoff locations. The results showed that one of the wet season sediment samples (Sed-03-Bal) contained higher amount of benzo(a)pyrene (0.023 mg/kg); indeno (1,2,3-cd) pyrene (0.045 mg/kg); Benzo (g, h, i) perylene (0.093 mg/kg); fluoranthene (0.028 mg/kg); and pyren (0.027 mg/kg). Another sample (Del-01-Sed) taken in dry season showed also a higher Acenaphthylene (0.017 mg/kg) level in the Del Rey lagoon. The PAHs concentration for all other water and sediment samples were below detection limit values. Thus, we suggest that the impact of PAHs on water quality is due to uncontrolled disposal or accidental discharge of PAH-rich waste material. The most effective and economic way to deal with PAH pollution in an urban setting is to prevent the pollutants from reaching the water in the first place, rather than trying to remove them from sediment and water.