Declining polychlorinated dibenzo- p-dioxins and dibenzofurans levels in the sediments from Dongting Lake in China

Dongting Lake is the second largest freshwater lake in China. Technical sodium pentachlorophenate (Na-PCP) had been sprayed since 1960s to control the spread of snailborne schistosomiasis up to the middle of 1990s. As one of the by-products of Na-PCP, polychlorinated dibenzo- p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) may enter the environment. It has been reported that the concentrations of PCDD/Fs in sediments in Dongting Lake were 130–891 pg I-TEQ g −1 in 1995. High toxicity of sediment to exposed microorganisms and fish may be risk on environment. In order to determine the present levels of the contamination, eight sediment samples from Dongting Lake were analyzed for PCDD/Fs using HRGC-HRMS. Total I-TEQ values for these samples were at a ranged of 0.7–11 pg g −1, with a mean value of 4.5 pg g −1. The results show that PCDD/Fs concentrations of contemporary sediment have declined since 1995. Certain PCDD/F congeners as well as OCDD, typical for Na-PCP, predominated in lake sediment indicating that the using of PCP-Na is the main source of PCDD/Fs in the lake. These variations in levels can reflect changes in PCDD/F sources to the environment over time.