Grain-Size Distribution of Polychlorobiphenyls in Coastal Sediments

Abstract

Congener-specific analyses of PCBs in marine sediments were undertaken to gain a better understanding of the distribution of this class of contaminants in relation to the grain-size of sediments. Twenty PCB congeners, selected for their potential toxicity and/or for their occurrence in the environmental samples, were studied in five grainsize sediment fractions (from φ > 800 µm to φ < 15 µm) and in the vegetal fragment fraction collected by flotation. PCB content and distribution profiles were observed in different grain-size fractions, and these were compared to that of the bulk sediments. Despite different contamination levels shown by the three studied sediments (from 29 to 181 ng g -1 in dry sediment for the sum of the 20 PCB congeners), trends were observed: preferential accumulation of PCBs with finest fractions and vegetal fragment fraction and specific association of low chlorinated congeners with the sand-size fractions (φ > 63 µm) and of high chlorinated congeners with the silt-size fractions (φ < 63 µm). This study illustrates the requirement of a good knowledge of the sediment grain-size composition when evaluating the toxicity and the availability of PCBs to aquatic biota.

Use of lipid biomarkers for identification of regional sources and dechlorination characteristics of polychlorinated biphenyls in the East China Sea

“…Mineral grain size (content percentage of sand) analysis showed that the inner shelf (10% to 30%) was composed mostly of fine terrestrial matters, and the middle-outer shelf (N 30%) was composed of coarse-grained quartz and some biogenic carbonates . The correlation between high ∑ 24 PCBs and fine particles indicated that the deposition of PCBs is also heavily affected by grain size (Duan et al, 2013;Piérard et al, 1996).…”

210Pb-derived history of PAH and PCB accumulation in sediments of a tropical inner lagoon (Las Matas, Gulf of Mexico) near a major oil refinery

“…According to Kuzyk et al (2010), C org availability dictates the PCB transport and fate, including entry into food webs or burial in sediments, and therefore changes in the organic system (terrestrial or aquatic) implies changes in the contaminant pathways. Additionally, many authors have reported an inverse relationship between particle size and PCB sediment concentrations (Pierard et al, 1996;Alkhatib and Weigand 2002;Zhang et al, 2007;Kuzyk et al, 2010;Nehyba et al, 2010) which is attributed to the fact that the greater surface area of the smaller particles also provides a larger area for the adsorption of C org (Zhang et al, 2007).…”

Non-Target Screening Method for the Identification of Persistent and Emerging Organic Contaminants in Seafood and Sediment from Jakarta Bay

“…direct uptake from water phase via epidermis organs or gill (bioconcentration) and via gastrointestinal tract from ingestion of either suspended particulate matter or from consumption of contaminated feed or known as bioaccumulation and biomagnification (Pierard et al, 1996). Further on, bioavailability of the contaminant in the environment Table 3.…”