Congener profiles of polychlorinated biphenyls in core sediments of Sunderban mangrove wetland (N.E. India) and their ecotoxicological significance.
The paper presents the first comprehensive survey of congener profiles of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in core sediment samples (<63 microm particle size) covering seven sites in Sunderban mangrove Wetland, north-eastern part of the Bay of Bengal. Results pointed out a non-homogenous contamination of the wetland with Sigma23PCB values ranging from 0.5 to 26.9 ng g(-1) dry weight, reflecting very low to moderate contamination closely in conformity to other Asian coastal environment. The general decreasing order of the dominant congeners to the total load was: CB138 > 153 > 149 > 101, indicating the predominance of hexa-chlorinated congeners. The spatial distribution revealed significant differences in concentration related to local urbanization with industrial and land-based sources. No uniform temporal trend on PCB levels was recorded probably due to particular hydrological characteristics of the wetland and/or non-homogenous inputs from point sources. Strong positive correlations between the seven dominant congeners suggest their common sources and similar environmental behaviors. These results were also used for a risk assessment evaluation in the Sunderban wetland, showing that the present PCB levels were exceeding in few cases the lower limit of sediment quality guidelines of Environmental Protection Agency and Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment.
Binelli
Andrea
A
Department of Biology, University of Milan, Via Celoria 26, 20133 Milan, Italy. andrea.binelli@unimi.it
Sarkar
Santosh Kumar
SK
Chatterjee
Mousumi
M
Riva
Consuelo
C
Parolini
Marco
M
Bhattacharya
Bhaskar deb
Bd
Bhattacharya
Asok Kumar
AK
Satpathy
Kamala Kanta
KK
D054750:Ecotoxicology; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis*; D007194:India; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis*; D053833:Wetlands
D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls