Characterization of trace organic contaminants in marine sediment from Yeongil Bay, Korea: 1. Instrumental analyses Chul-Hwan Koh a , Jong Seong Khim a, * , Daniel L. Villeneuve b , Kurunthachalam Kannan c , John P. Giesy d,e a School of Earth and Environmental Sciences (Oceanography), College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea b U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Mid-Continent Ecology Division, 6201 Congdon Blvd., Duluth, MN 55804-2595, USA c Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health and Department of Environmental Health and Toxicology, State University of New York at Albany, Empire State Plaza, PO Box 509, Albany, NY 12201-0509, USA d National Food Safety and Toxicology Center, Department of Zoology, and Institute for Environmental Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA e Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China Received 4 June 2005; received in revised form 7 September 2005; accepted 25 September 2005 Among various sediment contaminant classes measured, nonylphenol and PAHs are responsible for the variability among sampling sites, suggesting the existence of multiple sources in Yeongil Bay sediment. Abstract Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine (OC) pesticides (HCB, HCHs, CHLs, and DDTs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), alkylphenols (APs), and bisphenol A (BPA) were measured in 26 marine sediments collected from Yeongil Bay, Korea, in order to characterize their spatial distribution and sources. PCBs (2.85e26.5 ng/g, dry wt.) were detected mainly in the inner bay locations Mean OC pesticide ranged from 1.16 ng/g dry wt. for HCH to 0.05 ng/g dry wt. for HCB). PAH concentrations ranged from !10.0 to 1870 (mean: 309) ng/g dry wt., and were predominated 3- and 4-ring congeners. Concentrations of APs, such as nonylphenol, octylphenol, butylphenol (means 89.1, 4.61, 11.0 ng/g dry wt., respectively), were greater at locations proximal to municipal wastewater discharges. Concentrations of PCBs and PAHs were great near shipyards and industrial complexes. Vertical profiles of PAHs and APs indicated that they have been associated with sediments since the 1950s. Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); Organochlorine pesticides; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); Alkylphenols; Principal components analysis 1. Introduction Yeongil Bay, located on the east coast of Korea, is consid- ered to be one of Korea’s most industrialized regions and is contaminated by persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p- dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Approximately 0.3 million tons of industrial and municipal wastewater from Pohang City and several industrial complexes (ICs) including Posco IC and other steel ICs are discharged daily through the Hyeongsan River or directly into the bay. Further, agricultural and dairy farms located upstream of the Hyeongsan River gen- erate large amounts of wastes which are eventually discharged into the river. A recent study showed great contamination by PCBs, PCDDs, PCDFs, and PAHs with maximum concentra- tions of 170, 1.2, 0.63 and 7700 ng/g dry wt., respectively, in river sediment collected at several locations near Posco IC * Corresponding author. Tel.: C82 2 880 6750; fax: C82 2 872 0311. E-mail address: jskocean@snu.ac.kr (J.S. Khim). 0269-7491/$ - see front matter Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2005.09.005 Environmental Pollution 142 (2006) 39e47 www.elsevier.com/locate/envpol