Levels and distribution of Dechlorane Plus in coastal sediments of the Yellow Sea, North China

Dechlorane Plus (DP) has been determined in surface sediments from three Chinese coastal bays, e.g. Jiaozhou, Sishili and Taozi Bay in North China. DP concentrations ranged from <1.2 to 187 pg g−1 dry weight (dw) (mean: 24.7 pg g−1 dw) in Jiaozhou Bay, <1.2 to 135 pg g−1 dw (mean 69.9 pg g−1 dw) in Sishili Bay and <1.2 to 66.7 pg g−1 dw (mean: 40.4 pg g−1 dw) in Taozi Bay, respectively. Additionally, two dechlorinated species were quantified, which accounted for 0.6–5.1% of the ∑DP concentration.The fsyn values (syn-isomer/(syn- + anti-isomer)) in sediments from Jiaozhou Bay (mean 0.29) were close to the technical DP mixture (0.2–0.4), probably indicating local inputs of DP. In contrast, sediments in Sishili and Taozi Bay showed much lower fsyn values (mean 0.16). During transportation the DP isomers are subject to stereo selective degradation which partly resulted in the relative enrichment of anti-DP in coastal sediments.

Research highlights
► In this study we report the first data of DP in coastal sediment in North China.
► Two dechlorinated species were identified and quantified in the sediments.
► The sources of DP were discussed base on the variation of syn-DP isomer fraction.