Allozyme polymorphisms and heavy metal levels in the green-lipped mussel Perna viridis (Linnaeus) collected from contaminated and uncontaminated sites in Malaysia

It has been widely reported that heavy metal contamination in coastal waters can modify the allozyme profiles of marine organisms. Previous studies have recorded elevated metal concentrations in sediments and mussel tissues off Peninsular Malaysia. In the present study, horizontal starch gel electrophoresis was carried out to estimate the levels of allelic variation of the green-lipped mussel, Perna viridis, collected from one contaminated and three relatively uncontaminated sites off Peninsular Malaysia. Fourteen polymorphic loci were observed. In addition, the concentrations of cadmium, copper, lead, mercury and zinc were determined in the sediments and in the soft tissues of the mussels. Mussels from contaminated site, evidenced by high metal pollution indices (MPI) of the sediment and the mussel tissues, showed the highest percentage of polymorphic loci (78.6%), while those collected from the uncontaminated sites had lower MPI of the sediment and mussel tissue, and exhibited lower percentages of polymorphic loci (35.7-57.1%). The population from the contaminated site showed the highest excess of heterozygosity (0.289) when compared to that of the populations from the three uncontaminated sites (0.108-0.149). Allozyme frequencies at the phosphoglucomutase (PGM; E.C. 2.7.5.1) locus also differed between the contaminated and uncontaminated populations. Previous studies have shown that exposure to heavy metals can select or counter-select for particular alleles at this locus. The present results suggest that allozyme polymorphism in P. viridis is a potential biomonitoring tool for heavy metal contamination but further validation is required.     

Screening ecological risk assessment for the benthic community in the Venice lagoon (Italy)

According to the risk hypothesis: the sediment as source of potential risk for the benthic community, an Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) based on the quotient method was undertaken. The exposure of the benthic community to different classes of pollutants (metals, chlorinated organic compounds and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons) was inferred by estimating the pollutant stocks in the top 15-cm sediment of the whole Venice lagoon, after application of geostatistic techniques. The risk was calculated by comparing the sediment exposure profiles with the ecotoxicological benchmarks for benthic organisms. Kriging based maps of the spatial distribution of the estimated risk for the benthic community over the whole lagoon were obtained. The highest risk, found in the areas nearest to the sources of contamination (e.g., the industrial district of Porto Marghera and the river mouths), was posed by mercury (40% of the sampling stations showed exposure levels higher than the Probable Effect Level), arsenic and nickel (75% of the sampling stations exceeded the Threshold Effect Level).     

Geochemistry and bioavailability of metals in sediments from northern San Francisco Bay

In this study, metals (Be, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ag, Cd, Pb and Hg) in the fine-grained fraction (<63 microm) from 12 sites at different locations in northern San Francisco Bay over a year period from March 2000 to March 2001 were analyzed after acid extraction. The results showed that metal concentrations in the sediments varied from site to site, whereas some of them were found elevated with respect to the sediment of Tomales Bay, CA, which has little contamination history, indicating an enrichment of the metals in the sediment samples analyzed. Sediment toxicity and bioaccumulation evaluation by a clam species, Macoma nasuta, exposed to the sediment samples collected from the six sampling sites was carried out. The results showed that the sediment samples tested significantly reduced clam survival. Toxicity of the sediments to the clam was, in part, related to elevated metal concentrations in the sediments. In order to examine geochemistry of the metals and to understand potential correlations between metal concentrations and geochemical matrix elements of the sediments, bioavailability and toxicity of the metals, detailed analysis of metal concentrations associated with total organic carbon and the Fe-oxy-hydroxides in the sediment samples was performed. The analysis showed that sediment geochemistry appeared to influence metal bioavailability and may have important impacts on the toxicity of these metals to the clam.     

Community effects of carbon nanotubes in aquatic sediments

Aquatic sediments form an important sink for manufactured nanomaterials, like carbon nanotubes (CNT) and fullerenes, thus potentially causing adverse effects to the aquatic environment, especially to benthic organisms. To date, most nanoparticle effect studies used single species tests in the laboratory, which lacks ecological realism. Here, we studied the effects of multiwalled CNT (MWCNT) contaminated sediments on benthic macroinvertebrate communities. Sediment was taken from an unpolluted site, cleaned from invertebrates, mixed with increasing levels of MWCNTs (0, 0.002, 0.02, 0.2 and 2g/kg dry weight), transferred to trays and randomly relocated in the original unpolluted site, which now acted as a donor system for recolonization by benthic species. After three months of exposure, the trays were regained, organic (OC) and residual carbon (RC) were measured, and benthic organisms and aquatic macrophytes were identified. ANOVA revealed a significantly higher number of individuals with increasing MWCNT concentrations. The Shannon index showed no significant effect of MWCNT addition on biodiversity. Multivariate statistics applied to the complete macroinvertebrate dataset, did show effects on the community level. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed differences in taxa composition related to MWCNT levels indicating differences in sensitivity of the taxa. Redundancy Analysis (RDA) revealed that MWCNT dose, presence of macrophytes, and spatial distribution explained 38.3% of the total variation in the data set, of which MWCNT dose contributed with 18.9%. Still, the net contribution of MWCNT dose was not statistically significant, indicating that negative community effects are not likely to occur at environmentally relevant future CNT concentrations in aquatic sediments.     

Trace element pollution records in some UK lake sediments, their history, influence factors and regional differences

Sediment cores were taken from six sites across the UK. Apart from Banbury Reservoir in London, all the other sites are relatively remote lakes. Trace elements Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd, Cr, Ni, Sn, As and V, major elements such as Fe, Mn, Ti and Al were analysed, and organic content measured as loss-on-ignition was determined in all of these cores. The result shows that these relatively remote sites have experienced enhanced atmospheric deposition of anthropogenically derived trace elements for over 100 years, and the contamination might start before industrialisation. Trace metal contamination remains the highest level at Banbury Reservoir showing "pollution source" influence. Despite the considerable reduction in atmospheric deposition in recent years, although some of the element concentrations in the surface sediments have declined, they are still much higher than their natural background values. In these sites, trace element pollution records have been influenced by many different factors. Redox condition could affect As distribution in the sediments. Sediment matrix could also affect trace element pollution signal. Apart from direct atmospheric deposition, the distributions of trace elements in the sediments have been affected by forestry activities and catchment erosion, and more contaminated soil in-wash could increase sediment pollution whilst less contaminated soil could dilute sediment pollution. In some sites, data suggest that catchment in-wash is an important source of elements for the lakes.     

Health concerns of consuming cockles (Cerastoderma edule L.) from a low contaminated coastal system

Commercial and recreational harvesting of shellfish within the coastal systems is usually very extensive. Since these ecosystems are frequently subjected to contamination, namely from agricultural, urban and industrial activities, and shellfish generally display a high capacity to bioaccumulate metals, populations may be at risk in terms of toxic metal exposure as a consequence of the harvesting and ingestion of near shore coastal marine organisms. Shellfish is regularly tested for concentrations of metals and other contaminants by legal authorities for commercial purposes, but although health officials use total metal as standards of food safety, only a part of the metal accumulated in shellfish is available to be assimilated and to cause toxic effect. In order to elucidate these issues an investigation on cockles inhabiting the Aveiro estuary was conducted. Element levels in sediments and wild Cerastoderma edule from sampling areas with different levels of contamination were measured; total element burden of cockles was related to accessible fraction for assimilation (TAM); element concentrations in wild C. edule were compared to EFSA (European Food Safe Authorities), USFDA (United States Food and Drug Administration) and FSANZ (Food Standards Australia and New Zealand) maximum levels (MLs); and the amount of cockle flesh needed to be consumed to exceed provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) was determined. The present work showed that although sediment metal and metalloid contamination in Aveiro estuary is low the concentration of elements in C. edule does not reflect the contamination of the sediment. Aluminium (Al) and mercury (Hg) were the less and nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn) and cadmium (Cd) were the most bioaccumulated metals by cockles. Comparison of MLs from international organisations with the concentration of elements in C. edule showed that arsenic (As) and Pb exceeded standard levels. The ingestion of less than 1 kg for As and 1.5 kg for Pb of cockles would result in exceeding the PTWI threshold (0.015 and 0.025 mg kg?1 week?1 respectively) in any of the areas considered in the study. Cd and Al also appear to be limiting elements for human consumption. Indeed, consumption of more than 3.1 kg and 2.1 kg of whole cockle soft part from one of the study areas during a single week would lead to exceedance of the recommended PTWI value for Cd (0.007 mg kg?1 week?1) and Al (7 mg kg?1 week?1) respectively. The health concerns to humans from cockle consumption from Aveiro estuary are discussed.     

江阴市典型河流沉积物重金属污染和风险评价

在摸清河流表层沉积物重金属(Cu、Zn、Pb、Cr、As)含量的基础上,利用综合污染指数和地累积指数评价其污染状况,计算潜在生态风险和人体健康风险。结果表明,江阴市河流沉积物已经受到重金属污染企业和城市径流双重影响,Cu、Zn、Pb峰值在汛期,As、Cr峰值在非汛期;污染负荷指数和地累积指数评价结果显示非汛期污染略轻,地累积指数法引入背景波动参数而使其评价结果较乐观。重金属潜在生态风险都为轻微风险级别;致癌风险处于10~(-3)数量级,非致癌风险数量级为10~(-7),致癌风险为人体健康风险主要承担者。潜在生态风险汛期高,人体健康风险非汛期高,这可能是重金属元素对致癌风险以及生态风险的贡献不同所致。     

Causes and ecological effects of resuspended contaminated sediments (RCS) in marine environments

Sediments act as a net sink for anthropogenic contaminants in marine ecosystems and contaminated sediments may have a range of toxicological effects on benthic fauna and associated species. When resuspended, however, particulate-bound contaminants may be remobilised into the water column and become bioavailable to an additional assemblage of species. Such resuspension occurs through a range of natural and anthropogenic processes each of which may be thought of as pulsed disturbances resulting in pulsed exposures to contaminants. Thus, it is important to understand not only the toxicological responses of organisms to resuspended contaminated sediments (RCS), but also the frequency, magnitude and duration of sediment disturbance events. Such information is rarely collected together with toxicological data. Rather, the majority of published studies (> 50% of the articles captured in this review) have taken the form of fixed-duration laboratory-based exposures with individual species. While this research has clearly demonstrated that resuspension of contaminated sediments can liberate sediment-bound contaminants leading to toxicity and bioaccumulation under controlled conditions, the potential for ecological effects in the field is often unclear. Monitoring studies suggest that recurrent natural disturbances such as tides and waves may cause the majority of contaminant release in many environments. However, various processes also act to limit the spatial and temporal scales across which contaminants are remobilised to the most toxic dissolved state. Various natural and anthropogenic disturbances of contaminated sediments have been linked to both community-level and sub-lethal responses in exposed populations of invertebrates and fish in the field. Together these findings suggest that resuspension of contaminated sediments is a frequently recurring ecological threat in contaminated marine habitats. Further consideration of how marine communities respond to temporally variable exposures to RCS is required, as well as research into the relative importance of various disturbances under field conditions.     

三种重金属对长江口纹缟虾虎鱼早期发育的毒性作用

纹缟虾虎鱼广泛分布于长江口水域,它摄食底栖生物,同时又被大型鱼类所食,在长江口水域食物链中处于重要地位。研究了Cu2+、Pb2+、Zn2+3种重金属离子对长江口纹缟虾虎鱼从受精卵到出膜期、器官形成初期到出膜期、眼点形成期到出膜期等3个早期发育阶段孵化率和初孵仔鱼畸形率的影响,同时对早期仔鱼进行急性毒性试验。结果表明：3种重金属对胚胎及初孵仔鱼毒性大小依次为Cu2+>Zn2+>Pb2+。纹缟虾虎鱼胚胎在3种重金属影响下出现身体弯曲、萎缩和残缺,未能形成体节,心包囊肿等症状,还会出现较少见的胚体分叉、增生现象。纹缟虾虎鱼初孵仔鱼出现胸腔膨大、身体畸形等现象。仔鱼受重金属影响后,短期内表现出运动加剧,而后逐渐活力下降,个别仔鱼出现头部或者身体中部弯曲症状。Cu2+、Zn2+、Pb2+对早期仔鱼的安全浓度分别为0010、0136和0167 mg/L。研究结果可评估环境中重金属对纹缟虾虎鱼早期发育各个阶段的影响,亦为长江口水质监测与净化、纹缟虾虎鱼的资源增值以及中华鲟幼鱼栖息地饵料资源的保障提供参考.     

Pollution of the Begej Canal sediment--metals, radioactivity and toxicity assessment

The Begej Canal is one among a large number of canals in Vojvodina (Northern Province of Serbia and Montenegro). The paper describes a study of metal and radioactivity contamination of the Begej Canal sediment. It is also concerned with the evaluation of sediment acute toxicity based on standard test species Daphnia magna and simultaneously extracted metals and acid volatile sulfides. The quality of sediment was assessed according to Dutch standards, but the results were also compared with some Canadian and USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) guidelines for sediment quality. The results showed severe pollution with chromium, copper, cadmium and zinc, whereby the anthropogenic origin of these contaminants was indicated. The tests of toxicity of sediment pore water to D. magna, gave no indication of the presence of substances in acutely toxic concentrations to this species. It can be speculated that, despite of high metal contents, the observed toxicity was low because of the high contents of clay and iron, as well as sulphide. Also, based on a comparison with the Danube sediment and Vojvodina soil in general, the data of the Begej sediment contamination with 238U and 137Cs. The 137Cs data were used for approximate dating of the sediment. No traces of contamination by nuclear power plants in the region were found, while the presence of technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM) was proved. Conclusions based on different criteria for sediment quality assessment were in some cases contradictory. Study also showed that radioactivity aspects can be useful in sediment quality surveys. The obtained results will be invaluable for the future activities regarding integrated water management based on EC Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) in the Danube basin, and particularly in the region of crossborder water body of the Begej Canal.     

Impacts of sewage irrigation on heavy metal distribution and contamination in Beijing, China

A potential hazard to Beijing was revealed due to the accumulation trend of heavy metals in agricultural soils with sewage irrigation, which results in metal contamination and human exposure risk. Samples including soils and plants were collected to assess the impacts of sewage irrigation on the irrigated farming area of Beijing. Concentrations of the five elements Cd, Cr, Cu, Zn, and Pb were determined in samples to calculate the accumulation factor and to establish a basis for environmental protection and the suitability of sewage irrigation for particular land use in the urban-rural interaction area of Beijing. Using reference values provided by the Beijing Background Research Cooperative Group in the 1970s, the pollution load index (PLI), enrichment factor (EF), and contamination factor (CF) of these metals were calculated. The pollution load indices (sewage irrigation land 3.49) of soils indicated that metal contamination occurred in these sites. The metal enrichment (EF of Cd 1.8, Cr 1.7, Cu 2.3, Zn 2.0, Pb 1.9) and the metal contamination (CF of Cd 2.6, Cr 1.5, Cu 2.0, Zn 1.7, Pb 1.6) showed that the accumulation trend of the five toxic metals increased during the sewage irrigation as compared with the lower reference values than other region in China and world average, and that pollution with Cd, Cu, Zn, and Pb was exacerbated in soils. The distributions of these metals were homogeneous in the irrigation area, but small-scale heterogeneous spatial distribution was observed. Irrigation sources were found to affect heavy metal distributions in soils. It was suggested that heavy metal transfer from soils to plants was a key pathway to human health exposure to metal contamination. However, with the expansion of urban areas in Beijing, soil inhalation and ingestion may become important pathways of human exposure to metal contamination.     

黄浦江表层沉积物中重金属污染的潜在生态风险评价

采用潜在生态风险指数法对黄浦江表层沉积物中重金属污染的潜在生态风险进行了评价。评价结果表明,黄浦江表层沉积物中重金属的潜在生态风险水平较低,其中杨浦大桥和南市水厂断面达到中等生态风险,其它断面均为轻微生态风险;重金属的潜在生态风险依次为Cd>Hg>Cu>As>Pb>Cr>Zn,除Cd达到中等生态风险外,其余元素均为轻微生态风险。沉积物中重金属的污染水平从上游到下游呈上升趋势,工业排放是水环境中重金属的主要来源,苏州河对黄浦江下游重金属存在一定的输入贡献。相关性分析表明,黄浦江表层沉积物中大多数重金属元素呈现相近的来源特征,有机质是影响沉积物中重金属分布的重要因素。     

Benthic community structure and biomarker responses of the clam Scrobicularia plana in a shallow tidal creek affected by fish farm effluents (Rio San Pedro,SW Spain)

The effects of solid organic wastes from a marine fish farm on sediments were tested using benthic community as ecological indicators and biomarkers in native clam (Scrobicularia plana) as biochemical indicators. The benthic fauna and clam samples were collected in the intertidal sediment in October 2010 from five sites of the Rio San Pedro (RSP) creek, following a gradient of contamination from the aquaculture effluent to the control site. Numbers of species, abundance, richness and Shannon diversity were the biodiversity indicators measured in benthic fauna. Morphological and reproduction status of clams were assessed using the condition factor and gonado-somatic index, respectively. Phase I and Phase II detoxification enzymatic activities (ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD), glutathione S-transferase (GST)), antioxidant enzymatic activities (glutathione peroxidase (GPX), glutathione reductase (GR)) and oxidative stress parameters (Lipid Peroxidation (LPO) and DNA strand breaks) were measured in clams' digestive gland tissues. In parallel, temperature and salinity in the adjacent water, redox potential, pH and organic matter in sediment, and dissolved oxygen in the interstitial water were measured. The results suggested that RSP showed a spatial gradient characterised by hypoxia/anoxia, reduced potential, acidic conditions and high organic enrichment in sediments at the most contaminated sites. Significant (p < 0.05) decrease of biodiversity indicators were observed in the areas impacted by the aquaculture discharges. Biomarkers did not show a clear pattern and of all biochemical responses tested, GPX, DNA damage and LPO were the most sensitive ones and showed significant (p < 0.05) increase in the polluted sites. Benthic biodiversity indicators were significantly (p < 0.05) positively correlated with pH, redox potential and dissolved oxygen and negatively correlated with organic matter. On the contrary, antioxidant enzymatic responses (GPX) and oxidative stress parameters were significantly (p < 0.05) negatively correlated with those physico-chemical parameters. It has been demonstrated that effluents from fish aquaculture activities in Río San Pedro creek may produce an alteration of physico-chemical characteristics of seabed and induce oxidative stress and DNA damage in soft-sediment species which may lead to changes of the benthic population structure and health status of the exposed organisms.     

Determining when contamination is pollution - weight of evidence determinations for sediments and effluents

Contamination is simply the presence of a substance where it should not be or at concentrations above background. Pollution is contamination that results in or can result in adverse biological effects to resident communities. All pollutants are contaminants, but not all contaminants are pollutants. Differentiating pollution from contamination cannot be done solely on the basis of chemical analyses because such analyses provide no information on bioavailability or on toxicity. Effects-based measures such as laboratory or field toxicity tests and measures of the status of resident, exposed communities provide key information, but cannot be used independently to determine pollution status. Laboratory studies can be predictive, but are rarely realistic. Measures of resident communities include innate natural variability and cannot easily distinguish between adaptation to contamination (a genetic process) and acclimation (a physiological process that may decrease energy reserves, possibly reducing such critical population-level parameters as reproduction). Finally, contaminant effects may not only be direct but also indirect; predicting such effects requires knowledge of the system under study as well as appropriate use of lines of evidence (LOE) such as toxicity tests directed to key species. Consequently, in sediments, effluents or other inputs/environmental compartments, determining when contamination is or may in future become pollution, requires a weight of evidence (WOE) assessment using different LOE appropriate to the situation under investigation. WOE investigations provide two different types of information: definitive conclusions regarding pollution; or, information as to what additional, investigative studies are necessary for definitive conclusions. Effectively, a WOE assessment comprises an initial screening-level ecological risk assessment (ERA), which may be followed by a detailed-level ERA if key uncertainties need to be resolved.     

Factors affecting metal toxicity to (and accumulation by) aquatic organisms — Overview

This literature review encompasses aquatic environmental toxicities of metals and metalloids. The emphasis is on the influencing factors on metal toxicity to aquatic organisms. The effects of environmental factors on metal uptake are also discussed. The factors can be divided into biotic and abiotic. The biotic factors include tolerance, size and life stages, species, and nutrition related to the test organisms. The abiotic factors include organic substances, pH, temperature, alkalinity and hardness, inorganic ligands, interactions, sediments, and others. These factors can alter metal toxicity in the aquatic environment substantially, mostly causing attenuating effect. The literature shows divergent results. For example, the interactions between Cd and Zn were reported to be synergistic by some researchers and antagonistic by others. It is recommended that environmental hazard assessment takes into consideration the results of standard toxicity tests and site-specific conditions which can moderate metal toxicity considerably.     

Toxic risk of surface water pollution--six years of experience

Assessment of an ecological quality of surface water is necessary for effective protection, abatement and successive revitalisation of river ecosystems. This quality is primarily given by biological impact of surface water pollution. Substances contained in pollution are frequently toxic to aquatic organisms. Risk of chronic impact of surface water pollution is very often underestimated due to hidden long time action of pollutants. Proper estimation of the risk is not possible from results of chemical analyses and data of substances' toxicity. Chemical analyses are not able to detect all substances presented in water including the products of reactions between them. In addition, a simultaneous presence of substances can modify their final effect on aquatic organisms. Therefore, a complex method of assessment of toxic risk of surface water pollution based on ecotoxicological approach was developed. The toxic risk of surface water pollution is determined from results of evaluation of toxic risk of organic part and inorganic part of surface water pollution. Resultant degree of toxic risk of total pollution is given by the highest degree detected in any part of the water pollution. Presented method, which is routinely used for monitoring in the Czech part of the Odra river basin, was fully standardised and published in the form of the Czech branch technical norm of water management (TNV) in the year 2000.     

Determining sediment quality for regulatory proposes using fish chronic bioassays

Sediment quality assessments for regulatory purposes (i.e. dredged material disposal) are characterized by linking chemical and acute ecotoxicological data. The design of chronic bioassays that incorporate more sensible endpoints than acute tests is discussed to address sediment quality for environmental quality assessment and regulatory proposes. The chronic tests use juveniles of commercial species of fish Sparus aurata and Solea senegalensis, to assess sediment toxicity in samples collected along different littoral areas in the North and the South of Spain. The organisms were exposed during 60 days and sublethal endpoints were selected including biomarkers of exposure to metals (metallothioneins - MTs) and to organic contaminants (ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase activity - EROD activity) and biomarkers of effect (histopathology in different tissues, gill and liver). A Multivariate Analysis Approach was conducted in order to associate these biological responses with sediment metal concentration from the ports and with chemical residues in biological tissues exposed to sediments under laboratory conditions.     

Composition, sources, and potential toxicological significance of PAHs in the surface sediments of the Meiliang Bay, Taihu Lake, China

Twenty-five surface sediment samples were collected from Meiliang Bay, Taihu Lake, China, in 2003. The concentrations of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), identified as priority pollutants by the USEPA, were determined by gas chromatography equipped with a mass spectrometry detector (GC-MS). Total concentrations of the PAHs ranged from 1207 to 4754 ng/g dry weight. Sediment samples with the highest PAH concentrations were from the northern site of the bay, which is in proximity to the incoming PAH source; the PAH levels in the southern part were relatively low. The observed PAH levels were higher than those in river sediments in China but were lower than those found in sediments of urban areas and harbors. According to the observed molecular indices, PAHs originated largely from the high-temperature pyrolytic process, whereas the petrogenic process was more commonly responsible for PAH contamination in harbors. A good correlation existed between the benzo[a]pyrene level and the total PAH concentration (r=0.97), making benzo[a]pyrene a potential molecular marker for PAH pollution. According to the numerical effect-based sediment quality guideline (SQGs) of the United States, the levels of PAHs at most studied sites in Meiliang Bay, except some sites in the northern part of the bay, should not exert adverse biological effects. In the northern part of the bay, the PAH levels at sites 21 and 22 exceed the effects range low (ERL) and could thus cause acute biological impairments, in comparison with the sediment quality guidelines. The total PAH levels were expressed as the B[a]P toxicity equivalents (TEQs(carc)) and compared to the contaminated sediments from Guba Pechenga, Barents Sea, Russia.     

太湖底泥中多氯联苯的特征与环境效应

分析了太湖底泥中6种PCB同系物（PCB28、52、101、138、153、180）,其中含量最高的为PCB52,平均为0.983 ng/g,最低为PCB138,平均为0.104 ng/g。表层底泥中,检出率最高的为PCB101,达100%,最低为PCB180,只有58.3%。太湖底泥的多氯联苯含量与底泥中有机质和营养元素几乎不相关,表明大气沉降可能是多氯联苯的重要来源。根据沉积物有关风险评价标准,太湖底泥测定的PCB总量尚未达到毒性评价的低值。尽管底泥中PCBs含量不高,但在底栖生物中可以富集,并通过食物链逐级传递,因而其潜在的危害性仍不容忽视。