Distribution, historical trends and inventories of polychlorinated biphenyls in sediments from Yangtze River Estuary and adjacent East China Sea.
A large portion of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from e-waste released into the coastal areas may be the potential source of PCBs to the global oceans. The paper presents data of PCBs concentrations in fifty surface sediment samples and a dated sediment core in Yangtze River Delta (YRE) and adjacent East China Sea (ECS). The total PCBs levels varied from 5.08 to 19.64 ng/g dry weight, with the highest concentrations situate within the river-sea boundary zone which is so-called "marginal filter". Concurrent with the operation of e-waste recycling over the last two decades, PCB fluxes started to rise again after 1980s and reached a maximum in this century. The full data set was used to estimate the burden of PCBs in YRE and adjacent ECS. A total sediment burdens were 192.8 tons, with the spatial density of 364 ng/cm(2) which accounts for 1.9% of all the PCBs in China.
International Joint Research Center for Persistent Toxic Substances (IJRC-PTS), MOE Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation & Ecosystem Health, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Huayun
H
Yang
Shanshan
S
Zhuo
Bin
B
Xue
Chunlong
C
Zhang
Weiping
W
Liu
D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis*; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls