Distribution and sources of DDT and its metabolites in porewater and sediment from a typical tropical bay in the South China Sea.

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is well known for its harmful effects and has been banned around the world. However, DDT is still frequently detected in natural environments, particularly in aquaculture and harbor sediments. In this study, 15 surface sediment samples were collected from a typical tropical bay (Zhanjiang Bay) in the South China Sea, and the levels of DDT and its metabolites in sediment and porewater samples were investigated. The results showed that concentrations of DDXs (i.e., DDT and its metabolites) in bulk sediments were 1.58-51.0 ng g-1 (mean, 11.5 ng g-1). DDTs (DDT and its primary metabolites, dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (DDD) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE)) were the most prominent, accounting for 73.2%-98.3% (86.1% ± 12.8%) of the DDXs. Additionally, high-order metabolites (i.e., 1-chloro-2,2-bis(4'-chlorophenyl)ethylene (p,p'-DDMU), 2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene (p,p'-DDNU), 2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethanol (p,p'-DDOH), 2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)methane (p,p'-DDM), and 4,4'-dichlorobenzophenone (p,p'-DBP)) were also detected in most of the sediment and porewater samples, with DDMU and DBP being predominant. The DDTs concentration differed among the sampling sites, with relatively high DDTs concentrations in the samples from the aquaculture zone and an area near the shipping channel and the Haibin shipyard. The DDD/DDE ratios indicated a reductive dichlorination of DDT to DDD under anaerobic conditions at most of the sampling sites of Zhanjiang Bay. The possible DDT degradation pathway in the surface sediments of Zhanjiang Bay was p,p'-DDT/p,p'-DDD(p,p'-DDE)/p,p'-DDMU/p,p'-DDNU/ … /p,p'-DBP. The DDXs in the sediments of Zhanjiang Bay were mainly introduced via mixed sources of industrial DDT and dicofol, including fresh input and historical residue. The concentrations of DDXs in porewater samples varied from 66.3 to 250 ng L-1, exhibiting a distribution similar to that in the accompanying sediments. However, the content of high-order metabolites was relatively lower in porewater than in sediment, indicating that high-order degradation mainly occurs in particles. Overall, this study helps in understanding the distribution, source, and degradation of DDT in a typical tropical bay.

[Distribution Characteristics and Ecological Risk Assessment of Organochlorine Pesticides in Sediments of Zhanjiang Bay].

Sixteen surface sediment samples were collected from the estuary of the Suixi river to the mouth of Zhanjiang Bay and then analyzed for organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) by GC-MS to investigate their distribution and ecological risk. The results showed that the concentrations of OCPs in the sediments ranged from nd to 189.52 ng·g-1 (mean 32.17 ng·g-1), including HCHs (mean 5.81 ng·g-1) and DDTs (mean 26.90 ng·g-1). The distribution characteristics showed that the highest OCPs concentrations were found in the estuary and the main shipping lane areas, and the concentration in the nearshore area was higher than that offshore. Source analysis indicated that the HCHs mainly originated from agricultural applications, while no industrial input was observed. Some "hot-spots" areas occurred in harbors and shipping channels, likely as a result of the presence of paint flakes. Additionally, the concentrations of DDTs were found to be higher than the limits of Chinese Marine sediment quality criteria, and p,p'-DDT was the main type of DDT, presenting inevitable adverse biological effects and high ecological risk. Compared with other bays in China, the concentrations of OCPs in this study were in the upper-median pollution level, especially in harbors and boat maintenance facility areas. High OCPs inputs may occur, and thereby represent a certain ecological risk in Zhanjiang Bay.

[Characterization of free and bound organochlorine pesticides in four soil/sediments of the Pearl River Delta, China].

Free and bound residues are the main form of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in soils/sediments. Four surface soil/sediments from the Pearl River Delta, China, were selected to characterize free and bound OCPs in different fractions of organic matters in the samples through alka-extraction, HCl/HF demineralization and organic solvent extraction. Total OCPs concentrations of samples were 20.96-134.22 microg x kg(-1), total HCHs concentrations were 5.66-22.87 microg x kg(-1), and total DDTs concentrations were 1.51-11.70 microg x kg(-1). beta-HCH, heptachlor, aldrin, endrin, endosulfan sulfate and methoxychlor were the dominate compounds which took 53.56%-77.26% of total OCPs. Concentrations of free OCPs were 8.46-88.45 microg x kg(-1) and took 40.37%-65.90% of total OCPs while concentrations of bound OCPs were 11.46-45.77 microg x kg(-1) and took 34.10%-59.63% of total OCPs. Most of bound OCPs were in the humic acid and humin fractions of the samples which shows the significantly occurrence of bound OCPs in environment. Distributions of free DDTs and HCHs showed that there were no fresh HCHs poured into these samples but there were fresh DDTs poured into some of the samples. The distribution of OCPs in these two fractions were associated with the organic C content of the fractions, and 94.78%-97.48% of bound OCPs were in humin fraction which took 57.71%-80.55% of total organic C in the samples. Environmental risk estimate showed that some free OCPs such as gamma-HCH, aldrin, endrin and DDTs may have risk to environment and total of free and bound concentration of each compound were 1-30 times higher than free concentration of each compound. Therefore bound OCPs should be considered while making the environmental risk estimate and establishing environmental criteria.