Horizontal and vertical profiles of PCBs in sediments from southeastern coastal areas of Korea

The concentrations of 20 congeners of PCBs were determined in surficial and dated sediments from Jinhae, Busan, Ulsan and Yeongil Bay of Korea to assess current distributions as well as historical trends. The concentration ranges of total CBs in sediments were nd-138.60 ng/g dry wt. The concentrations of total CBs were significantly different among bays in the southeastern coastal areas (Kruskal-Wallis Test, p=0.036), Showing the Order Of Busan>Ulsan>Yeongil>Jinhae Bay. Predominant PCB homologues were penta-, hexa- and hepta-CBs. The down-core distributions of PCBs showed that the highest concentrations occurred in the late 1960s, coinciding with the onset of industrialization of Korea. The compositions of PCB congeners in sediment among bays were uniform, suggesting that major sources were not changed over time.