title: Distribution characteristics of polychlorinated biphenyls in crucian carp (Carassius auratus) from major rivers in Korea.
abstract: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) levels in crucian carp were determined at 20 locations along four major river systems, several small-scale rivers and a wetland in Korea. Twenty-eight congeners, ranging from tri- to hepta-CBs were detected. A gas chromatograph with a mass selective detector was used to quantify the individual PCB congeners. The objectives of this study were to investigate the levels of contamination of PCBs in freshwater fish and to observe the pattern of their distribution. The sampling locations were chosen among 31 sampling sites that are currently used as environmental residue checkpoints by the Korean Ministry of Environment. Concentrations of individual congeners ranged from not detectable (n.d.) to 0.75 ng g(-1) on a wet weight basis. The total concentrations of PCBs at each site ranged from n.d. to 5.41 ng g(-1) of wet weight. The most heavily contaminated site was the Nakdong estuary located near the Shinpyung-Janglim factory district. The PCB 153 and 138 were the principal congeners and penta- and hexa-chlorinated biphenyls comprised the main congener groups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Pusan National University, Busan 609-735, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ji Yong
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: Young Bok
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sung In
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Heeyoung
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Kyunghee
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Gi Ho
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Jeong
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006054:Goldfish / Q000378:metabolism*; D007723:Korea; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000378:metabolism; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls