Contamination of Tributyltin in Sediment from Four Bays in the Southeastern Part of Korea

Abstract

Spatial and vertical variations of butyltins(BTs) were investigated in polluted sediments from Jinhae, Busan, Ulsan and Yeongil Bays located in the southeastern part of Korea. Tributyltin(TBT) as a dominant species was detected in 18 of the 20 surficial sediments, and TBT levels were lower that for those in heavily polluted areas worldwide, ranging from 12 to 766 ng Sn/g dry wt. Distribution of TBT levels among bays was not significantly different (p=0.286, ANOVA). The horizontal distributions observed at 20 sites suggests that TBT concentrations are still high in polluted sites around harbors and industrial complexes. The sedimentary records a peak in the early 1990s in Jinhae Bay, in the mid 1980s in Ulsan Bay and in the late 1970s in Yeongil Bay except for Busan Bay which had a homogenous profile. In paricular, TBT at the surface sediments of four core samples still had high levels. From the horizontal and vertical results, it could be assumed that TBT inputs in the sediments were not reduced significantly compared to past levels. The annual accumulation rates estimated using the sedimentation rates and the concentration of surficial sediments exhibited that the accumulation rate of Ulsan Bay was greater than the rates for Jinhae and Yeongil Bays.