LEVELS AND MASS INVENTORY OF DDTS IN SEDIMENTS FROM FISHING HARBORS:THE IMPORTANCE OF DDT-CONTAINING ANTIFOULING PAINT TO THE COASTAL ENVIRONMENT OF CHINA

摘要

Sixty sediment samples were collected from the nine fishing harbors in Southeast China and were analyzed for DDTs and HCHs. The DDT concentrations ranged from 9 to 7350 ng/g dry weight, which were generally one to two orders of magnitude higher than those from adjacent estuarine/marine systems. Higher DDT concentrations compared with lower HCH concentrations (<0.10-12 ng/g) and TOC contents (0.12%-2.6%) clearly denotes a significant input of DDTs within the fishing harbors. The most possible fresh DDT source in the fishing harbors is the release of DDT from fishing ships with DDT-containing antifouling paint. The sediment (0-10 cm) mass inventories were estimated 1.0-5.7 metic tons for DDTs in fishing harbors in the Pearl River Delta, which was several times higher than the DDT accumulation in the surface sediment of the Pearl River estuary. It may be a potential source to ajacent coastal water environment.