DEPOSITION RECORD OF ORGANOCHLORINE PESTICIDES IN A SEDIMENTARY CORE IN MACAO ESTUARY, PEARL RIVER, CHINA

Abstract

This paper present the concentration profiles of the organochlorine pesticides in a sediment core from Macao Estuary, Pearl River, China. Concentrations of organochlorine pesticides were determined by GC/ECD and GC/MSD, and the core was dated by ²¹⁰Pb method in a content-activity model. The results show that the concentrations of HCHs and DDTs in the core ranged from 0.48–26.3 and 1.92–39.1 μg/kg, respectively. Concentration of DDTs in the research area was above the Effects Range-Low value (ERL) for Marine and Estuarine sediments. The vertical distributing of organochlorine pesticides in the core was influenced by the water flux of Pearl River and the pollutants are mainly attributed to the runoff of local agricultural soils.

Keywords:

• Organochlorine pesticides
• Concentration
• Sedimentary core
• Macao Estuary, Pearl River

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was funded by the National Scientific Foundation of China (4972026) and part of the work was supported by Research Center for Eco-environmental Sciences (RCEES-KIP-9901).