Constructing Petroleum-Derived Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Related Toxic Source Profiles via Effect-Directed Analysis

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)-related toxicity caused by AhR agonists has threatened ecological health, and toxic source apportionment plays an important role in pollution management. However, there are no AhR-related toxic source profiles to date. This study aims to construct petroleum-derived AhR-related toxic source profiles by utilizing the polluted soils after a petroleum leakage accident. Three polluted soils and two unpolluted soils were designed for toxic source profile construction, and we use n-alkanes and their proxy indicators to verify the rationality of classification. Then, the key AhR agonists were identified by effect-directed analysis. We discovered that the key AhR agonists in petroleum-polluted soils are constituted by chrysene, methylated benzo-[a]-anthracene (MeBaA) isomers, and methylated chrysene (MeChr) isomers, where 2-MeChr and 9-MeBaA/3-MeChr contribute the most toxicity. Meanwhile, we also confirmed the existence of synergistic effect. Moreover, the constructed toxic source profile explained most of the toxicity of crude oil, and its specificity was also validated by principal coordinate analysis. In conclusion, this study constructed new petroleum-derived AhR-related toxic source profiles for toxic source apportionment and pollution management, and also provided a new framework for other toxic source profile construction.