Sedimentary record of environmental pollution in the Western Baltic Sea

Phthalic Acid Esters

“…They found that the diester was hydrolyzed about twelve times faster than the monoester for these compounds. Because of the slowness of the chemical hydrolysis reaction, PAEs deposited on sediments appear to be relatively stable, as indicated by studies of the relationship between the date of sediment deposition and the relative production of P AEs at that date [172,194,195]. Similarly, atmospheric photodegradation is only a minor degradative pathway because of the low volatility of these compounds and because their principal absorptions are well into the UV region of the spectrum.…”

“…Lake Constance has several hundred ppb, while the levels reported in the Ohio River reach 80,000 ppb. Muller and his collaborators [172] reported that they could correlate PAE concentrations in Baltic Sea sediment cores with the level of plasticizer production in Europe. Peterson and Freeman [195] reported a similar correlation between American production and Chesapeake Bay sediments.…”

“…The preferred solvent depends on whether the solids are wet or dry. Muller and his coworkers [172] use a particularly thorough cleanup procedure in their sediment studies. Following extraction with acetone: hexane (1: 1) they passed the extract through an alumina/Florisiljcopper column with dichloromethane: hexane and then further purified by sequential treatment with Celite, sulfuric acid and mercury.…”

“…Peterson [194], however, states that the extraction efficiency of the ultrasonic method is equal to or better than the Soxhlet method for sediment analysis. The simplicity and efficiency of the ultrasonication method has been utilized by other groups as well [172].…”

Eckernförder ve Geltinger Körfezlerinin Antropojenik Ağır Metal Kirliliğinin Karot Sedimentlerinde Araştırılması, Batı Baltık Denizi, Almanya

“…The western Baltic Sea with its coastal inlets (bays and bights) has long been known as a marine region subject to increased environmental pollution since the 1800s (Erlenkeusser et al 1974;Suess and Erlenkeusser, 1975;Brügmann et al, 1980;Müller et al, 1980;Ergin, 1982;HELCOM, 2007 Sediments from EB core contained 24-42% clay, 56-75% silt and 1-3% sand fractions with a median grain size of 0.003-0.007 mm (avg. 0.004).…”