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.

中文翻译：

---

毛里塔尼亚大西洋沿岸多环芳烃 （PAH） 的概况、来源和生态风险，揭开无声的威胁


毛里塔尼亚大西洋沿岸是一个重要的经济和环境区域，目前面临着越来越大的人为压力，导致 PAHs 污染等污染威胁其生态完整性和经济价值。为了评估这种污染，海岸被分为 4 个区域：2 个人为胁迫区域（LBZ 和 PNkt）和 2 个非胁迫区域（PNBA 和 PDlt）;接下来，测定沉积物和生物组织中 16EPA-PAHs 浓度。在沉积物中，PNkt （21.1 μg/kg） 和 LBZ （20.8 μg/kg） 区域的 16EPA-PAH 浓度最高，而 PNBA （15.0 μg/kg） 和 PDlt （14.6 μg/kg） 的 PAH 浓度最低。此外，PNkt 和 LBZ 区的致癌和生态风险潜力更高，致癌潜力为 10.1-10.6，生态风险为 0.010-0.017。这些结果突出了由于这个脆弱地区日益严重的人为污染而导致的高 PAHs 污染，在毛里塔尼亚沿海资源的可持续管理中应考虑到这一点。