title: Decline in sediment contamination by persistent toxic substances from the outfall of wastewater treatment plant: Effectiveness of legislative actions in Korea.
abstract: Legacy and new persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in sediments near a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) outfall in a semi-enclosed bay, to investigate the current contamination and temporal changes in these contaminants associated with regulation activities in Korea. The concentrations of most of the POPs showed clear decreasing trends with an increase in the distance from the WWTP outfall, indicating that the WWTP discharges greatly contributed to the sediment contamination by POPs. Highly significant correlations were found for most of the POPs, indicating a common source for sediment contamination. Significant declines were found in the concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and PAHs in the sediments collected between 2005 and 2013. This result suggested that legislative actions (regulation of the PCDD/Fs in flue gas, total pollution load management, and whole effluent toxicity for WWTP discharges) and change of fuels, were likely to be effective at reducing the POP and PAH levels in sediments during the past several years. The different compositional profiles of the PCDD/Fs and PAHs between 2005 and 2013 implied changes in and/or additional sources of these contaminants. Despite a decline in the PCDD/Fs over time, the present levels of PCDD/Fs in the sediment exceeded some of the sediment quality guidelines suggested by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Sciences and Convergent Technology, College of Science and Technology, Hanyang University, Ansan 426-791, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Xiangzi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Sciences and Convergent Technology, College of Science and Technology, Hanyang University, Ansan 426-791, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun-Kyung
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Sciences and Convergent Technology, College of Science and Technology, Hanyang University, Ansan 426-791, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Abimbola C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Badejo
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Sciences and Convergent Technology, College of Science and Technology, Hanyang University, Ansan 426-791, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sang-Yoon
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Sciences and Convergent Technology, College of Science and Technology, Hanyang University, Ansan 426-791, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Aihua
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Sciences and Convergent Technology, College of Science and Technology, Hanyang University, Ansan 426-791, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sunggyu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Sciences and Convergent Technology, College of Science and Technology, Hanyang University, Ansan 426-791, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Yunsun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.affiliation: Marine Environment Research Division, National Institute of Fisheries Science (NIFS), Busan 619-705, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Minkyu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Sciences and Convergent Technology, College of Science and Technology, Hanyang University, Ansan 426-791, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: hbmoon@hanyang.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Hyo-Bang
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Moon
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis*; D056910:Republic of Korea; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D062065:Wastewater / Q000032:analysis; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D062065:Wastewater
keywords: Guidelines; Legislative action; PBDEs; PCDDs; PCDFs