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Background and purpose: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are one of the widespread and persistent contaminant throughout the nature. The main origin that introduced this contamination to environment is oil and oil products. The main objective of this study was determination of Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) PAHs list compounds in surface sediments of Hara Protected Zone and comparison the results with the standards. Materials and methods: For petroleum pollution risk assessment in the zone, forty-two surface sediments were collected from Qeshm Island and Bandar Khamir, Iran, and sixteen PAHs compounds listed by EPA were determinate in them. The samples were extracted with a Soxhlet extractor device and 300ml dichloromethane and then analyzed with Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS). Results: Mean concentration of these 16 compounds was 1470 ± 157 ng/g dry weight. Therefore, the mean concentration of naphthalene as the most toxic and Benzo(a)pyrene as the best known of carcinogen PAHs compounds was 1274 ± 183 and 2.5 ± 0.28 ng/g dry weight, respectively. Conclusion: Results showed that the concentration of total PAHs was below the EPA standard (4000 ng/g dry weight). But concentration of naphthalene as the most toxic of PAH compound was higher than standard (160 ng/g). So concentration of Benzo(a)pyrene as most hazardous of PAHs compound and indicator of environmental contamination with PAHs compounds was lower than standard (430 ng/g).

Keywords: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, petroleum pollution, Hara protected zone, Qeshm Island, Iran

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