To investigate the distributions, degree, and possible sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in bed sediments from four rivers of Xinxiang, 18 sediment samples were analyzed. The concentrations ranged from 4.45 × 103 to 29.0 × 103 ng/g for ∑15PAHs (sum of US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) priority PAHs apart from naphthalene (Nap)) and 3.37 × 103 to 23.5 × 103 ng/g for ∑7carPAHs (including benzo[a]anthracene (BaA), chrysene (Chr), benzo[b]fluoranthene (BbF), benzo[k]fluoranthene (BkF), benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), dibenzo[a,h]anthracene (DBA), and indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene (InP)) with average concentrations of 10.7 × 103 and 7.99 × 103 ng/g, respectively. Compared with those from other rivers in China, sediments from four rivers of Xinxiang were severely polluted with PAHs. Pearson correlation analysis showed that ∑15PAHs concentrations had a significant positive correlation with black carbon content. Four- to six-ring PAHs accounted for 83.4 % of total PAHs, which indicated that the main source of PAHs in the studied area could be pyrogenic contamination. Source apportionment using PCA/MLR and UNMIX revealed that coal and biomass combustion contributed 64.4–67.1 %, gasoline vehicle 23.2–27.2 %, and diesel vehicle 5.70–12.4 % of the total PAHs, respectively. The effects range low/effects range median (ERL/ERM) values showed that there was a high level of toxicity risk for BaA. The ecological risk assessment by mean effects range median quotients (mERMQ) revealed a medium ecological risk of ∑15PAHs in sediments from four rivers of Xinxiang, manifesting that a close attention should be paid to pollution of PAHs in the studied area.
