Distribution, sources, and ecological risk assessment of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the estuary of Dagu River, China

Four different types of 0–30 cm soil/sediment samples were collected from aquaculture land, farmland, industrial land and river bottom sediment in the estuary area of Dagu River, and the pollution status and sources of 7 PCB congeners were analyzed. The results showed that the mean values of Σ7PCBs in soil/sediments of different land use types were 5.01 ng g−1 dw for industrial land, 3.6 ng g−1 dw for estuarine sediments, 2.09 ng g−1 dw for farmland soil and 1.78 ng g−1 dw for farming land. All samples were at low pollution levels and pose little ecological risks. PCBs in the samples are mainly comprised of highly chlorinated biphenyls, and their content decreases gradually with increasing sampling depth. Based on the principal component analysis, it is concluded that the main source of PCBs in the study area is shipping activities, in addition to atmospheric transport and sedimentation sources.