Sedimentation of PCDD/Fs and PCBs in the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia, the Baltic Sea.
Sediment trap material was collected during May-December in the period 1996-2008 in three coastal areas and four open sea stations in the Finnish territory of the Baltic Sea. The highest sedimentation of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) with a typical source-related congener profile from chlorophenol production dominated by highly chlorinated dibenzofurans was found close to a historical source in the Kymijoki estuary. This was an order of magnitude higher than in other river estuaries and two orders of magnitude higher than in the open sea stations. The sedimentation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was also higher in river estuaries than in other areas. No significant decrease over a 12 year period of monitoring was found in concentration or in sedimentation in the Kymijoki estuary. In the western Gulf of Finland, the Archipelago Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia, the dominating congeners, calculated as toxic equivalent (TEQ) in sedimentation were 1, 2, 3, 7, 8-PeCDD and 2, 3, 4, 7, 8-PeCDF, often reported as the main congeners in deposition.
Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), P.O. Box 140, Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: markku.korhonen@ymparisto.fi.
Markku
M
Korhonen
Simo
S
Salo
Harri
H
Kankaanpää
Hannu
H
Kiviranta
Päivi
P
Ruokojärvi
Matti
M
Verta
D001572:Benzofurans / Q000032:analysis*; D000072338:Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005387:Finland; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis*; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
D001572:Benzofurans; D000072338:Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
PCDDs; PCDFs; Sedimentation; dl-PCBs