title: Toxicological impact assessment of heavy metal contamination on macrobenthic communities in southern coastal sediments of Korea.
abstract: In the heavily industrialized Masan Bay of southern coast, Korea, the potential harmful effects of heavy metals (Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sn, Zn, and Hg) were evaluated in terms of the pollution load index (PLI) and ecological risk assessment index (ERI) methods, and the results obtained were considered alongside the health of the macrobenthic fauna communities. The results revealed that the bay sediments, especially in the inner bay and the outfall area of a sewage treatment plant, are exposed to moderate to serious levels of metal pollution. Hg and Cd contributed the most to the potential toxicity response indices in sediments recently deposited in the bay. The potential ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in the bay was highlighted by the use of the benthic biological pollution index (BPI), suggesting that the ERI is a useful toxicity response index, which can quantify the overall ecological risk level to a target environment.
authors.affiliation: Library of Marine Samples (LIMS), South Sea Research Institute, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Geoje 656-830, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Dhong-il
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Jin-Woo
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Hyeon Ho
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Do Hyun
authors.initials: do H
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.forename: Hoi Soo
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Jung
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D007448:Invertebrates / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D056910:Republic of Korea; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Heavy metals; Korean coastal sediments; Macrobenthic communities; Pollution assessment