Organochlorine Pesticides in the Sediment Core of Gwangyang Bay, South Korea

Abstract

The nine organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in the sediment samples taken from Gwangyang Bay, which is a heavy chemical industrial region in South Korea, are analyzed to evaluate their contaminations during the past 50 years. The vertical distributions of SigmaOCPs concentration in the sediment core were in good agreement with the temporal amount of pesticides used in South Korea except for the top sediment layer. The DDTs were predominant, their concentrations ranging from 78.0 to 202 pg/g dry wt and attributed more than 60% to SigmaOCPs in all the sediment layers. Based on the ratio of DDT metabolite compositions, the DDT contamination in the top layer might be caused from recent input. This is due to the highest residual concentration of OCPs in the top layer. Although HCB and mirex have been unregistered as pesticides in South Korea, two compounds were detectable in all of the sediment samples in the range from 0.243 to 16.7 pg/g dry wt in the study area. The emission source of HCB in the sediment core could be estimated to be due to incomplete combustion in the industrial chemical processes rather than pesticide application. Regarding horizontal distribution of SigmaOCPs, the concentration was slightly higher than for the inner bay than the outer bay. The OCPs in the sediments of Gwangyang Bay were compared with those of other countries by hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis.

The legacy of man-made organic compounds in surface sediments of Pina Sound and Suape Estuary, northeastern Brazil

“…The mean concentration of DDTs in sediments of Suape Estuary is similar to that of some other areas reported in Table 4, including Argentina, Belgium, the Netherlands, South Korea and Spain (Arias et al, 2011;Kim et al, 2008;Van Ael et al, 2012;Gómez et al, 2011). Average total DDTs at Pina Sound are on the same order of magnitude as those of several other areas, including Cuba, New Zealand and Portugal (Tolosa et al, 2010;Carvalho et al, 2009;Burggraaf et al, 1994).…”

Insecticides in sediment cores from a rural and a suburban area in South China: A reflection of shift in application patterns

“…The relatively high DDT / (DDE + DDD) ratio in the surface sediment (0.93) indicated additional source of DDTs other than possible soil erosion as well. Fresh input of DDTs has been previously reported in estuarine and coastal zones (Gong et al, 2007;Kim et al, 2008;Li et al, 2014c) and believed to be from by-products of dicofol and antifouling boat painting (Guo et al, 2009;Wang et al, 2015).…”

“…Sediment cores may provide a useful tool for reconstructing a historical record of pesticide input into freshwater ecosystems and help to elucidate the temporal impacts of human activities on pesticide pollution (Eisenreich et al, 1989;Sabatier et al, 2014). Previous studies using cores have generally focused on OCPs (mainly DDTs and HCHs) and have noted a generally decreasing trend over time except for fresh input of DDTs in some areas such as Quanzhou Bay in South China and Gwangyang bay in South Korea (Gong et al, 2007;Kim et al, 2008;Wang et al, 2013;Cheng et al, 2014). In comparison to OCPs, very little information is available on the distribution and composition of current use pesticides (CUPs) in sediment cores worldwide (Daniels et al, 2000;Sabatier et al, 2014;Wu et al, 2015).…”

Evaluation of pesticide contamination in Dilek National Park, Turkey

“…In general, there were more pesticides in the 30-60-cm sampling depth, with the most in area corresponding to sample locations 29-59. Other researchers have also reported pesticides migrating to lower sediment depths (Kim et al 2008a;Pazou et al 2006). The most prevalent pesticides in the 30-60-cm depth were DDT (69.5% of the samples), heptachlor (62.3%), alpha-endosulfan (55% of samples), and endrin (37%).…”