Spatial and temporal trends in PCBs in sediment along the lower Rhône River, France

►We reconstructed trends in PCBs in the Rhône River, France, using sediment cores. ►PCB concentrations in sediments of the Rhône increase in a downstream direction. ►Concentrations of PCBs at the downstream sites remained elevated into the 1990s. ►PCBs in sediment downstream from Lyon are unlikely to decrease over the short term.