Instrumental and bioanalytical measures of dioxin-like compounds and activities in sediments of the Pohang Area, Korea.
Pohang is a mid-sized city in which Korea's largest manufacturer of steel is located. The Hyeongsan River, which runs through Pohang and empties into Yeongil Bay, is therefore expected to be affected by various municipal and industrial inputs. In order to characterize aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)-mediated activities in sediments from the Pohang area, a total of eight locations along the Hyeongsan River were chosen and 16 sediment samples were collected during two sampling campaigns in 2010. Organic extracts of sediments were characterized by both quantitative chemical analyses of dioxin-like chemicals and the in vitro H4IIE-luc bioassay. Significant dioxin-like activities were observed in sediments from industrial and municipal areas, which indicates that most of the dioxin-like chemicals were associated with surrounding anthropogenic sources. In general, responses of the H4IIE-luc assay were significantly correlated with concentrations of target compounds including dioxins, furans, co-planar PCBs, and dioxin-like PAHs. A potency balance analysis indicated that instrumentally derived TCDD equivalents (TEQs) explained about 77% of the bioassay-derived TCDD equivalents (TCDD-EQs). Among the target chemicals measured, certain penta-chlorinated dioxin and furan compounds accounted for the majority of dioxin-like activities associated with sediments. Compositional analysis of target chemicals the sources of such dioxin-like activities were mainly derived from the local activities such as the iron and steel industries. Concentrations and activities of AhR agonists were similar to what was measured approximately 10 years ago. Thus, while AhR agonists seem to be persistent in sediments there seem to have been no large increases in these chemicals in the Pohang area.
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences & Research Institute of Oceanography, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Seongjin
S
Hong
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences & Research Institute of Oceanography, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: jskocean@snu.ac.kr.
Jong Seong
JS
Khim
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences & Research Institute of Oceanography, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Jinsoon
J
Park
School of Environmental Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Sunmi
S
Kim
School of Environmental Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Sangwoo
S
Lee
School of Environmental Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Kyungho
K
Choi
Environmental Analysis Center, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, Republic of Korea.
Chul-Su
CS
Kim
Environmental Analysis Center, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, Republic of Korea; School of Urban and Environmental Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, Republic of Korea.
Sung-Deuk
SD
Choi
College of Natural Sciences, Soonchunhyang University, Asan, Republic of Korea.
Jeongim
J
Park
Department of Marine Biotechnology, Anyang University, Ganghwagun, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
Jongseong
J
Ryu
Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences and Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
Paul D
PD
Jones
Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences and Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Department of Zoology, Center for Integrative Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA; Department of Biology & Chemistry and State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
John P
JP
Giesy
D001681:Biological Assay; D004147:Dioxins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D056910:Republic of Korea; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity
D004147:Dioxins; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR); Dioxin; In vitro bioassay; Potency balance; Sediment; Steel industry