Trace Organic Contaminants in Sediment and Water from Ulsan Bay and Its Vicinity, Korea J. S. Khim, 1,2 K. T. Lee, 1 K. Kannan, 2 D. L. Villeneuve, 2 J. P. Giesy, 2 C. H. Koh 1 1 School of Earth and Environmental Sciences (Oceanography Program), College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea 2 National Food Safety and Toxicology Center, Department of Zoology, and Institute for Environmental Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824-1311, USA Received: 11 June 2000/Accepted: 28 August 2000 Abstract. Sediment and water samples collected from 32 locations in Ulsan Bay and adjacent inland areas were analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocabons (PAHs), nonylphenol (NP), octylphenol (OP), bisphenol A (BPA), organochlorine (OC) pesticides (HCB, HCHs, CHLs, and DDTs), and poly- chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) to characterize their spatial dis- tribution and contamination status. PAHs were detected in nearly all sediment and water extracts from Ulsan Bay and its inland locations. The sedimentary PAH concentrations ranged from 17 to 3,100 ng/g on a dry weight basis (DW), which were predominated by two- and three-ring aromatic hydrocarbons in river and/or stream, and four- to six-ring compounds in Ulsan Bay sediment. Concentrations of PAHs in pore water samples were generally two or three orders magnitude less than those of corresponding sediment samples. Maximum concentrations of NP, OP, and BPA in sediments were 1,040, 120, and 54 ng/g DW, respectively. Concentrations of OP and BPA were, on average, 5- to 13-fold less than those of NP. PCB concentra- tions in sediment ranged from 1.4 to 77 ng/g DW, which were predominated by lower chlorinated congeners such as di- through pentachlorinated biphenyls. Among different OC pes- ticides analyzed, concentrations of DDTs were the greatest, ranging from 0.02 to 41.9 ng/g DW. NP concentrations were greater at inner locations proximal to municipal wastewater discharges into rivers and/or streams, whereas the concentra- tions of PCBs and PAHs were great near the sites of high industrial activities. Sediment-pore water partitioning coeffi- cients correlated with those of reported K oc or K ow values for selected PAHs in Ulsan Bay, but these varied by an order of magnitude for stream and/or river sediments. The highly industrialized region of Ulsan Bay, located on the east coast of Korea, is considered to be one of the most contaminated areas in Korea. Approximately 600,000 tons of industrial and domestic wastewater, mainly from Ulsan City, are discharged daily through several rivers and/or streams into the Bay. The Ulsan petrochemical industrial complex alone discharges up to 200,000 ton/day of effluent to Ulsan Bay, via the Woihwang and Taehwa Rivers (Kang et al. 1999). The Ulsan Bay has also the largest industrial port in Korea. Industrialization in this area has long been associated with social and environmen- tal health problems (Kang et al. 1999). Despite the potential for direct and accidental discharges of organic contaminants into the bay, little is known regarding organic contaminants in aquatic ecosystems in this region. In this study concentrations, distribu- tion, and biological potency of organic contaminants were exam- ined in sediment and water from the Ulsan Bay and its vicinity. Target compounds were polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine (OC) pesticides, and several suspect xenoestrogens, such as nonylphe- nol (NP), octylphenol (OP), and bisphenol A (BPA). PAHs are a group of common environmental contaminants. They originate from anthropogenic sources, such as waste incin- eration, coal gasification, and accidental oil spills, as well as natural processes, like fossil fuel and wood combustion (Neff 1979). Because of their hydrophobicity, low water solubility, and vapor pressures, PAHs tend to accumulate in sediment and other organic phases. Occurrence of PAHs in the environment is of concern due to their carcinogenic properties and ability to exert toxic effects through aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)–mediated mechanism, similar to those of dioxins (Mastrangelo et al. 1996; Sanderson et al. 1996). Most surveys of PAH contamination in coastal and estuarine sediments have been in North America and some European countries, and little information is available in Asian countries. PCBs and OC pesticides, such as hexachloroben- zene (HCB), hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (HCHs), chlordanes (CHLs), DDT and its derivatives (DDTs), have been detected in sediments and waters for over the last 30 years. Despite a ban on the use of PCBs and DDTs in many countries (including Korea) during the early 1970s, these compounds are ubiquitous and persistent in various environmental media and biota. These chem- icals have been suspected to cause a variety of adverse effects, including hormone-dependent cancers, compromised reproductive fitness, and abnormal reproductive system development in wildlife and humans (Tyler et al. 1998; Giesy and Kannan 1998; Zachare- wski 1998). Thus, they remain a cause for concern. Correspondence to: C. H. Koh Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 40, 141–150 (2001) DOI: 10.1007/s002440010157 ARCHIVES OF Environmental Contamination and T oxicology © 2001 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.