Revisiting of persistent organic pollution occurrence and distribution in the surface sediment along western Taiwan coast

Jing-O Cheng; Po-Hsuan Tseng; Pei-Hsin Chou; Chi-Ying Hsieh; Fung-Chi Ko

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113118

Revisiting of persistent organic pollution occurrence and distribution in the surface sediment along western Taiwan coast

Mar Pollut Bull. 2021 Dec;173(Pt B):113118. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113118. Epub 2021 Nov 8.

Authors

Jing-O Cheng¹, Po-Hsuan Tseng¹, Pei-Hsin Chou², Chi-Ying Hsieh³, Fung-Chi Ko⁴

Affiliations

¹ National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Pingtung, Taiwan.
² Department of Environmental Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan.
³ Department of Environmental Engineering, National Ping Tung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan.
⁴ National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Pingtung, Taiwan; Institute of Marine Biology, National Dong Hwa University, Pingtung, Taiwan. Electronic address: ko@nmmba.gov.tw.

PMID: 34763183
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113118

Abstract

Levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including PAHs, PCBs, DDTs, and PBDEs, were measured in sediment collected from along the Taiwan coast and compared to previous studies. The dominant POPs were PAHs, followed by PCBs, PBDEs, and DDTs. The highest levels of PAHs and PCBs were found in sediment from harbors in southern Taiwan, which are surrounded by densely populated areas and affected by multiple industrial activities. In contrast, significantly higher levels of PBDEs were found at the northern coastline, which has a higher population and includes the metropolitan Taipei area. Using diagnostic PAH ratios, the predominant sources of PAHs in coastal Taiwan was determined to be pyrolytic-related activities. The main component of each POP was low- to moderately-chlorinated congeners, p,p'-DDE and BDE209, respectively. Further studies are required to assess the impact of these POPs on marine and coastal ecosystem.

Keywords: Benthic; Estuarine; PCA; POPs; Sediments.

MeSH terms

Ecosystem
Environmental Monitoring
Geologic Sediments
Polychlorinated Biphenyls* / analysis
Taiwan
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

Water Pollutants, Chemical
Polychlorinated Biphenyls