Environ Monit Assess
DOI 10.1007/s10661-012-2907-3
Levels, distribution, and risk assessment of organochlorines
in surficial sediments of the Red Sea coast, Egypt
Ahmed El Nemr & Abeer A. Moneer &
Azza Khaled & Amany El-Sikaily
Received: 19 February 2012 / Accepted: 24 September 2012
# Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2012
Abstract The analyses of environmentally persistent
pollutants like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hex-
achlorocyclohexane (HCH) isomers, and dichlorodi-
phenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its metabolites in
surficial sediment samples collected from 17 locations
along with the coast of the Red Sea in Egypt were
carried out using gas chromatography–mass spectrom-
etry. Several potential organic contaminants from ag-
ricultural (e.g., DDT and its breakdown products,
lindane, endrin, dieldrin, and endosulfan) and indus-
trial (PCBs) sources were measured. The levels of 20
organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and ten PCB con-
geners in sediment collected from 17 stations along
~1,200 km were investigated. Concentrations of
PCBs, HCHs, DDTs, and cyclodienes ranged from
0.40 to 6.17, 0.01 to 0.09, n.d. to 0.46, and 0.08 to
0.90 ppb dry weight. Two statistical programs were
applied on the data (principal component analysis,
PCA, and cluster analysis, CA), and it was concluded
that it is impossible to predict the distribution patterns
of the OCPs in a contaminated area. Risk assessment
A. El Nemr (*) : A. A. Moneer : A. Khaled : A. El-Sikaily
Environmental Division, National Institute of
Oceanography and Fisheries,
Kayet Bey, El-Anfoushy,
Alexandria, Egypt
e-mail: ahmedmoustafaelnemr@yahoo.com
A. El Nemr
e-mail: ahmed.m.elnemr@gmail.com
of the organochlorines contaminated in the sediments
of the studied area was investigated.
Keywords Pesticides . HCHs . DDTs . Cyclodienes .
PCBs . Red Sea . Sediment
Introduction
Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and substances like
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are man-made com-
pounds which have become widespread environmen-
tal pollutants and food contaminants on a global scale
(Wania and Mackay 1996). Many of the active ingre-
dients of OCP formulations and their metabolites, as
well as congeners of chlorobiphenyl and chloronaph-
thalene, are highly persistent chemicals in marine
environments and are toxic, bioaccumulate, and bio-
magnify in marine food webs (Falandysz et al. 2001;
Zhao et al. 2010a). Many OCPs were used on global
scales from the 1950s to the mid1980s, most of which
are stable and persistent in the environment. Usage of
OCPs has been prohibited in most countries (Barra et
al. 2001; Turgut 2003).
Where the OCPs pose great risks to ecosystems and
human health, with low water solubility and high
hydrophobicity, so OCPs are readily sorbed onto sus-
pended particulate matter and subsequently deposited
into river and marine sediments (Yang et al. 2005; Qu
et al. 2011; El Nemr et al. 2012a). Sediments are one
of the important repositories of OCPs, where they can

be resuspended and release bound OCPs from par-
ticles into water under favorable conditions, which
result in second contamination of water (Chau 2005).
Through interaction between sediment and water,
transfer of OCPs from sediments to organisms is
now regarded as a major route of exposure for many
species (Zoumis et al. 2001). Consequently, the resi-
dues of OCPs in sediments can serve as a useful index
of pollution and potential environmental risks (Sun et
al. 2010; Qu et al. 2011). Coastal sediments are acting
as temporary or long-term sinks for many classes of
anthropogenic contaminants and, consequently, act as
the source of these substances to the ocean and biota
(Kilemade et al. 2004; El Nemr et al. 2012b). OCPs
enter the marine environment from agricultural culti-
vations, drainage, runoff, and atmospheric deposition
(Gil and Vale 1999), so estuaries are one of the main
reservoirs of pesticides. Sediments are one of the best
media for monitoring organic compounds as they pro-
vide a valuable record of contamination in aquatic
environments (Chang and Doong 2006). Distribution
of various chlorinated hydrocarbons in marine and
estuarine environment depends on residues of highly
persistent OCP physicochemical properties of the eco-
system as well as partition coefficients of individual
chlorinated hydrocarbons. The particulate matter as
well as various species of organisms which generally
interact with persistent chlorinated hydrocarbons ulti-
mately sinks, thereby enhancing the concentration of
the pollutants in the bottom sediment.
As the OCPs have a great affinity for particulate
matter, so they can be deposited in the aquatic systems
during sedimentation and can remain in sediments for
very long due to their long half-life times. Important
factors controlling sorption of OCPs to sediments are
mainly surface area and organic matter contents, apart
from other physicochemical properties like pH, cation
exchange capacity, or ionic strength (Delle Site 2001;
Yang et al. 2010).
OCPs have been used substantially in Egypt for
control of agricultural pests. Although the usage of
PCBs in Egypt is unknown, past usage of these sub-
stances in transformers, electrical equipment, ship
painting, and other industries has been common. The
aim of the present work is to investigate the distribu-
tion and the risk assessments of different OCPs and
PCBs in the surface sediments collected from 17 loca-
tions along the Red Sea coast and their correlations
with the total organic carbon (TOC) of the sediments
Environ Monit Assess
and to study the possible sources of these pollutants.
The importance of this study is its evaluation of the
pollution status of the Egyptian Red Sea coast, which
is covered by the selected 17 locations that represent
the expected most polluted area due to area develop-
ment and human activities near these locations. The
risk assessment done in this study is the evaluation of
the impact of pollutants contaminating the sediment
due to human stay near these locations or the tourist
locations located within the studied area.
Materials and methods
Sampling
The 17 sampling stations were located along approx-
imately 1,200 km of the Egyptian Red Sea coast, from
Shalatin to Taba (Fig. 1). The surface sediment sam-
ples were collected during May 2009 with a van Veen
grab (0–5 cm) and layers were carefully taken to avoid
disturbance. The upper 5-cm layer was selected be-
cause it is more biologically and chemically active
than deeper layers, and exchanges of substances be-
tween sediment and water occur in this layer. Imme-
diately after collection, samples were placed in
aluminum bags, refrigerated, and transported to the
laboratory. Samples were dried in an oven at 105 °C
to constant weight and sieved to separate stones and
shells, lightly ground in an agate mortar for homoge-
nization, and prepared for analysis.
Grain size analysis, total carbonates, and TOC
The samples were collected from 17 different regions.
The sediment samples were spread over a glass sheet
and left to dry in air. After drying, the samples were
then disaggregated with fingers and split into portions
by the cone and quarter technique. Part of the sediment
was washed and dried at 105 °C for mechanical anal-
ysis. Another part of the unwashed samples was dried
and grounded to pass through 63-μm Sieve for chemical
analysis.
Grain size analysis was determined according to
Folk (1974). Total carbonates were estimated as de-
scribed by Molnia (1974). TOC was determined
according to the method described by Walkely and
Black (1934). Total organic matter was calculated by
the following equation:
Environ Monit Assess

constructed to assess the cohesiveness of the clusters

formed, where correlations among elements can read-
30° Suez
ily be seen. In the present study, SPSS for Windows,
Ras Suder Taba version 19, was utilized for the multivariate analysis
Ain Sukhna
Sinai and for correlation analysis.
29° Nuweiba

Saudi Pollutant extraction

Dahab
Ras Gharib
El Tour Arabia
28° Dry sediment was homogenized and 20 g was analyzed
Ras Mohamed Na'ama bay
Sharm
for organochlorine pollutants followed by well-
established techniques (UNEP/IOC/IAEA, 1989; 1991).
Hurghada
Sediment (20 g of dry weight) was then transferred to a
27°
precleaned extraction thimble and extracted with n-hex-
Safaga ane/dichloromethane [(1:1), 300 ml] for 8 h in a Soxhlet
apparatus cycling five to six times per hour. Thimble was
Quseir
26° extracted in the same fashion as the sample and used as
Red Sea the blank and its value was subtracted from the results.
The extracted solvents were concentrated with a rotary
25° Egypt Marsa Alam evaporator down to about 15 ml (maximum temperature:
40 °C) and then concentrated to 1 ml under a gentle
stream of pure nitrogen gas. The remaining extract was
transferred to the top of a glass column (50 ml) packed
24° with 20 g Florisil followed by elution with 70 ml of
hexane for PCB congener fraction (F1). Then, the column
was eluted with 60 ml of mixture containing 70 % of
Bir Shalatin
23°
Shalatin
Rahaba
hexane and 30 % of dichloromethane for the pesticide
fraction (F2). Activation of Florisil was achieved by
32° 33° 34° 35° 36° heating at 130 °C for 12 h, followed by partially deacti-
vating with 0.5 % water by weight and storing in a tightly
Fig. 1 Location map
sealed glass jar with ground glass stopper and the mixture
was allowed to equilibrate for 1 day before use.
TOM % ¼ TOC%  1:8: Each fraction was concentrated and injected into a
CLASS-GC10 gas chromatograph (Shimadzu, Japan)
equipped with a 63Ni electron capture detector. A fused-
Statistical analysis silica capillary column (30 m×0.32 mm×0.52 μm) coat-
ed with DB-1 (5 % diphenyl and 95 % dimethyl poly-
Principal component analysis (PCA) is widely used to siloxane) was used for quantification. The oven
reduce data (Loska and Wiechula 2003; El Nemr et al. temperature was programmed from an initial temperature
2006; 2007; 2012c; Khaled et al. 2010) and to extract of 70 (2-min hold) to 280 °C at a rate of 5 °Cmin−1, and
a small number of latent factors for analyzing relation- was then maintained at 280 °C for 20 min. Injector and
ships among the observed variables. PCA was, there- detector temperatures were maintained at 270 °C and
fore, applied to the correlation matrix and with 300 °C, respectively. Helium was used as the carrier
varimax-normalized rotation. Cluster analysis (CA) (1.5 mlmin−1), and nitrogen as the makeup (60 ml
was performed to further classify elements of different min−1) gas. Concentrations of individually resolved peaks
sources on the basis of the similarities of their chem- were summed to obtain the total PCB concentration.
ical properties. As the variables have large differences Compound identification was confirmed by GC
in scaling, standardization was performed before com- coupled to mass spectrometry in the chemical ioniza-
puting proximities, which can be done automatically tion mode and negative ion recording (Trace DSQ II
by hierarchical CA procedure. A dendogram was Ms with capillary column: Thermo TR-35 MS Mass
 Environ Monit Assess

Selective Detector). Ion repeller was 1.5 V. Data was Risk measurements
scanned from m/z 50 to 450 at 1 s/decade. Data were also
acquired in a selected ion monitoring mode with dwell Incidental ingestion of sediment
time and span of 0.06 s and 0.10 amu, respectively.
To control analytical reliability and assure recovery Exposure data Incidental ingestion of sediment may
efficiency and accuracy of the results, four analyses were occur during recreational activities such as swimming or
conducted on organochlorine compounds in IAEA—383 wading. The intake equation includes different intake
reference materials provided by EIMP-IAEA. The labo- scenarios for children and adults to account for the like-
ratory results showed that recovery efficiency ranged lihood that children ingest more sediment than adults.
from 91.1 % to108.6 % (Table 1). The limit of detections
(LODs) in the present study was estimated to be 0.2 ng/g Estimated dose Chronic daily intake of incidental in-
for PCBs and 0.3 ng/g for pesticides based on the mini- gestion of sediment is estimated as follows (USEPA
mum quantity of sample required for a discernible peak to Region 10 Guidance, 1991):
appear on the chromatogram.


mg
intake  day
Table 1 The results obtained (ng/g) for reference material IAEA kg
383 ( )
1RcxEfxEDc
þ 1RaxEFxEDa
Pollutant Required Range Found ¼ CsxCf 1 Bwc BWa
 Cf 2
AT
PCBs
PCB 18 0.38 0.11–0.93 0.40 where CS 0 contaminant concentration in sediment
PCB 28 1.00 0.77–1.40 0.93 (milligram per kilogram); CF1 0 conversion factor
PCB 52 2.50 1.1–2.8 2.48 (0.000001 kg/mg); CF2 0 conversion factor (365 days/
PCB 44 1.10 0.92–1.20 1.09 year); IRc 0 intake rate, child (200 mg/day); IRA 0
PCB 101 2.90 1.3–4.2 2.76 intake rate, adult (100 mg/day); EF 0 exposure frequen-
PCB 149 3.20 2.3–3.7 3.11 cy (22 days/year); EDc 0 exposure duration, child
PCB 153 4.30 2.3–5.4 4.26 (6 years); EDA 0 exposure duration, adult (24 years);
PCB 138 4.40 2.6–6.1 4.43 BWc 0 body weight, child (15 kg); BWA 0 body
PCB 180 2.50 1.9–3.4 2.39 weight, adult (70 kg); AT 0 averaging time (30 years×
PCB 194 0.54 0.31–0.73 0.49 365 days/year010,950 days). All exposure parameter
Pesticides values are standard default values from USEPA region
α-HCH 0.29 0.13–3.7 0.32 10 guidance, with the exception of exposure frequency
β-HCH 0.57 0.26–9.7 0.54 taken from the statewide recreation survey.
γ-HCH 0.46 0.16–1.1 0.43
Heptachlor 1.00 0.51–5.9 0.96
Aldrin 1.40 0.84–5.9 1.36 Results and discussions
Heptachlor epoxide 1.50 0.42–5.9 1.55
γ-Chlordane 1.40 0.8–0.73 1.31 Sediment fractionations, carbonates, TOC, and TOM
Dieldrin 0.27 0.1–0.57 0.26
p,p′-DDE 1.20 0.75–1.8 1.14 Generally, sediments covering the area of study have a
α-Chlordane 0.47 0.06–0.73 0.46 nature from fine sand to coarse sand (Table 2). The
Endrin 1.10 0.4–1.8 1.00 occurrence of fine sand here may be due to the domi-
Endosulfan I 0.31 0.15–0.57 0.29 nance of terrigenous fine grain size sediments. The sedi-
Endosulfan II 1.70 9.2–7.1 1.69 ments in the different study areas are predominantly
p,p′-DDD 1.80 0.8–3.6 1.72 sands, with one exception at Quseir location, where
p,p′-DDT 2.40 0.86–6.1 2.29
the sediments have 15.66 % silt which may be attributed
Endosulfan sulfate 1.70 0.92–7.1 1.68
to the low contribution with terrestrial deposits. Sorting
ranged from moderately to very poorly sorted indicating
Environ Monit Assess

Table 2 Grain size, water content (WC%), CO3%, TOC%, and TOM% in collected sediment samples from the Red Sea

Site no. Location Position (°) Depth WC% CO3% TOC% TOM% Sand Silt Mud% Sorting Sediment
(m) % % type

1 Taba 34.88°E; 29.46°N 5 15.06 2.1 0.36 0.60 94.83 5.1 0.07 0.79 Med. sand
2 Nuweiba 34.69°E; 29.02°N 5 8.41 6.2 0.21 0.35 99.61 0.34 0.05 1.4 Coarse sand
3 Dahab 34.53°E; 28.50°N 5 8.18 22.1 0.24 0.46 99.26 0.70 0.04 1.27 Coarse sand
4 Na'ama Bay 34.28°E; 27.80°N 4 21.2 14.2 0.01 0.02 97.77 2.19 0.05 1.29 Coarse sand
5 Sharm 34.27°E; 27.72°N 5 26.6 18.1 0.21 0.36 93.1 6.9 0.00 1.69 Coarse sand
6 Ras Mohamed 34.19°E; 27.76°N 6 8.81 10.2 0.00 0.00 93.33 6.67 0.00 1.77 Med. sand
7 El Tour 33.56°E; 28.24°N 5 31.6 22.3 0.21 0.36 96.01 3.05 0.94 0.82 Med. sand
8 Ras Suder 32.67°E; 29.13°N 5 19.5 56.3 0.31 0.54 98.20 1.60 0.20 0.61 Med. sand
9 Suez 32.67°E; 29.63°N 3 21.3 2.1 0.25 0.45 99.96 0.02 0.02 1.25 Coarse sand
10 Ain Sukhna 32.49°E; 29.92°N 3 17.6 54.2 0.11 0.21 95.70 4.30 0.00 0.63 Fine sand
11 Ras Gharib 33.13°E; 28.35°N 4 23.4 28.3 1.70 3.13 99.78 0.22 0.00 0.00 Coarse sand
12 Hurghada 33.85°E; 27.26°N 3 24.2 24.3 0.05 0.10 99.70 0.22 0.08 0.54 Med. sand
13 Safaga 34.06°E; 26.58°N 3 24.7 6.1 0.18 0.32 97.66 2.34 0.00 0.61 Med. sand
14 Quseir 34.26°E; 26.17°N 3 19.1 2.1 0.14 0.28 84.34 15.66 0.00 1.35 Fine sand
15 Marsa Alam 34.92°E; 25.06°N 3 20.1 2.1 0.31 0.55 99.64 0.26 0.10 1.30 Coarse sand
16 Bir Shalatin 35.66°E; 23.12°N 3 20.8 44.6 0.35 0.63 99.18 0.82 0.00 0.77 Fine sand
17 Shalatin-Rahaba 35.64°E; 23.15°N 4 22.4 43.4 0.35 0.63 98.30 1.66 0.04 0.64 Fine sand

turbulent conditions. The coarse sand showed poor sort-
ing, whereas the fine sand grain is moderately sorted.
Total organic matter ranges between 0.002 % at Ras
Mohamed and 3.15 % at Ras Gharib (Table 2). The TOM
is low at Na'ama Bay, Ras Mohamed, and Hurghada
which may be an indication of some prevailing hydrody-
namic factors that provoked winnowing any material less
dense than shells. Also, the low value is attributed to the
position of the sampling from the terrestrial discharge
which is regarded as the main contributor of the organic
detritus; thus, it may indicate the dominance of oxidizing
conditions, which may be due to permanent sediment
reworking and a low sedimentation rate.
In general, the carbonate contents in the studied loca-
tion showed fluctuation between high and low levels
(Table 2). The high carbonate content records at some
locations (Dahab, El Tour, Ras Suder, Ain Sukhna, Ras
Gharib, Hurghada, Bir Shalatin, and Shalatin Rahaba)
may have resulted from wave directions, displaces, and
concentrate sand comprising whole shells and fragments.
Levels of organochlorine pollutants in sediment
Tables 3, 4, and 5 showed the concentrations of organ-
ochlorine pollutants [ten PCBs (PCBs 18, 28, 44, 52, 101,
118, 138, 153, 180, and 194)], α-, β-, γ-, δ-
hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), p,p′-DDE, p,p′-DDD,
p,p′-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), aldrin, diel-
drin, endrin, endrin aldehyde, endrin ketone, heptachlor,
heptachlor epoxide, γ-chlordane, α-chlordane, methoxy-
chlor, endosulfan I, endosulfan II, and endosulfan sulfate
in the surface sediment samples from the 17 locations
along the Red Sea coast. The results represented that the
PCB concentrations ranged from 0.40 to 6.17 ng/g, α-
HCH (n.d. to 0.002 ng/g), β-HCH (n.d.to 0.007 ng/g), γ-
HCH (n.d. to 0.002 ng/g), δ-HCH (0.009 to 0.082 ng/g),
p,p′-DDE (n.d. to 0.119 ng/g), p,p′-DDD (n.d. to
0.214 ng/g), p,p′-DDT (n.d. to 0.202 ng/g), aldrin (n.d.
to 0.008 ng/g), dieldrin (n.d. to −0.004 ng/g), endrin (n.d.
to 0.123 ng/g), endrin aldehyde (n.d. to 0.163 ng/g),
endrin ketone (n.d. to 0.292 ng/g), heptachlor (n.d. to
0.130 ng/g), heptachlor epoxide (n.d. to 0.117 ng/g), γ-
chlordane (n.d. to 0.438 ng/g), α-chlordane (n.d. to
0.04 ng/g), methoxychlor (n.d. to 0.117 ng/g), endosulfan
I (n.d. to 0.072 ng/g), endosulfan II (n.d. to 0.076 ng/g),
and endosulfan sulfate (n.d. to 0.075 ng/g). Throughout
the studied area, it can be observed that the mean con-
centrations were 0.40–6.17 ng/g for total PCBs, 0.009–
0.086 ng/g for total HCHs, 0.003–0.457 ng/g for total
DDTs, and from 0.076 to 0.903 ng/g for total cyclodienes.
 Environ Monit Assess

Table 3 PCBs concentration (ng/g of dry weight) in sediment samples collected from the Egyptian Red Sea coast

Site Location PCB18 PCB28 PCB44 PCB52 PCB101 PCB118 PCB138 PCB153 PCB180 PCB194 Total Mean±
no. SD

1 Taba 0.62 0.89 0.07 1.15 0.48 0.19 0.13 0.07 n.d. n.d. 3.60 0.33±0.42
2 Nuweiba 0.02 0.01 0.43 0.09 0.07 0.13 n.d. 0.12 0.27 0.03 1.17 0.13±0.14
3 Dahab n.d. n.d. 0.07 n.d. n.d. 0.35 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. 0.42 0.04±0.11
4 Na'ama 0.27 0.12 0.57 0.31 0.16 0.11 0.1 0.03 n.d. 0.02 1.69 0.15±0.18
Bay
5 Sharm 0.35 0.37 0.36 0.73 0.12 0.27 0.05 0.04 n.d. 0.05 2.33 0.22±0.24
6 Ras 0.55 1.13 0.13 0.08 0.08 0.11 n.d. 0.21 n.d. 0.01 2.30 0.19±0.35
Mohamed
7 El Tour 0.02 0.01 0.22 0.01 0.02 0.06 0.14 0.09 0.15 0.03 0.74 0.08±0.07
8 Ras Suder 0.97 0.93 0.80 0.96 n.d. 0.79 n.d. 0.09 1.32 0.33 6.17 0.57±0.48
9 Suez 0.18 0.14 0.23 0.23 0.06 0.07 n.d. 0.01 n.d. n.d. 0.91 0.08±0.95
10 Ain Sukhna 0.06 0.04 0.69 0.12 0.07 0.06 n.d. 0.04 n.d. n.d. 1.08 0.11±0.22
11 Ras Gharib 0.1 0.06 0.18 0.23 0.06 0.26 n.d. 0.11 n.d. n.d. 1.00 0.10±0.10
12 Hurghada 0.58 0.45 0.08 0.93 0.16 0.25 n.d. 0.07 n.d. 0.02 2.54 0.20±0.30
13 Safaga 0.37 0.34 0.46 0.96 0.26 0.72 0.45 0.14 1.05 0.03 4.78 0.48±0.35
14 Quseir 0.17 0.07 0.99 0.39 0.04 0.18 0.21 0.07 n.d. 0.03 2.15 0.22±0.31
15 Marsa 0.47 0.36 0.31 0.78 0.16 0.37 n.d. 0.03 n.d. 0.07 2.54 0.23±0.25
Alam
16 Bir Shalatin 0.06 0.06 0.53 0.11 0.04 0.07 n.d. 0.01 0.88 n.d. 1.76 0.19±0.31
17 Shalatin- 0.02 n.d. 0.06 0.01 0.01 0.04 0.06 0.08 n.d. 0.12 0.40 0.04±0.04
Rahaba

The total PCB is the predominance organochlorine pollu-
tants at all studied locations.
Distribution of PCBs in sediments
The concentrations of PCBs in sediment are summarized
in Table 3. The concentration of total PCBs was arranged
descending in the following order Ras Suder (6.17 ng/g)
> Safaga (4.78 ng/g) > Taba (3.60 ng/g) > Hurghada,
Marsa Alam (2.54 ng/g) > Sharm (2.33 ng/g) > Ras
Mohamed (2.30 ng/g) > Quseir (2.15 ng/g) > Bir Shalatin
(1.76 ng/g) > Na'ama Bay (1.69 ng/g) > Nuweiba
(1.17 ng/g) > Ain Sukhna (1.08 ng/g) > Ras Gharib
(1.00 ng/g) > Suez (0.91 ng/g) > El Tour (0.74 ng/g) >
Dahab (0.42 ng/g) > Shalatin Rahaba (0.40 ng/g).
Among the ten identified PCBs congeners, PCB 18,
28, 44, 52, 118, and 180 are found to be dominant, and
this can be attributed to some industrial activities. The
presence of small amounts of the higher chlorinated
congeners 101, 138, and 153 and very low concentra-
tions of 194 suggest that there are no significant local
sources of PCBs. According to Tolosa et al. (1995), a
significant depletion of the higher chlorinated congeners
is found in samples from remote areas because these less
volatile congeners are more easily removed from the
atmosphere and they cannot be transported to those
regions. The lower chlorinated congeners (below PCB
101) represented 13.55–19.94 % of total PCB concen-
tration in the sediments. The presence of tetrachlorobi-
phenyl (44 and 52), pentachlorobiphenyl (101 and 118),
and hexachlorobiphenyl (138 and 153) in most studied
samples suggest a contribution from the commercial
mixtures, which have been widely used in transformers,
electrical equipment, and other industries in several
countries (Barkat et al. 2002). Generally, the presence
of PCBs is due to their low rate of degradation, vapor-
ization, low water solubility, and partitioning to particles
and organic carbon (Kennish 1992).
Distribution of DDTs in sediments
DDT was widely used in Egypt on a variety of agri-
cultural crops and for the control of disease vectors.
The largest agricultural use of DDT has been on cot-
ton, which accounted for more than 80 % of the use
before its ban (Barakat et al. 2002). Although its usage
was banned in 1988, its detection, along with detec-
tion of its breakdown products (i.e., DDEs + DDDs),
Environ Monit Assess

in sediments is expected because the reported environ-
mental half-life of DDTs is estimated to be 10–20 years
(Woodwell et al. 1971).
The contents of DDTs in the 17 sites along the Red Sea
coast were presented in Table 4. The residues of DDTs
were detected in all samples. In the present study, ∑DDTs
(equivalent sum of p,p′-DDE + p,p′-DDD + p,p′-DDT)
ranged from 0.003 to 0.457 ng/g. DDTs were detected in
all sediment samples, but the contribution of individual
metabolites showed differences. The concentration of
total DDTs reached maximum value at El Tour
(0.457 ng/g) followed by Safaga (0.321 ng/g) and Ras
Gharib (0.146 ng/g). The minimum values of total DDTs
were recorded at two stations; Qusir and Na'ama Bay
(0.003 ng/g), whereas the other stations followed almost
an equal trend of DDT distribution ranging from 0.007 to
0.103 ng/g dry weight.
DDTs undergo degradation to DDDs and DDEs in
natural environment by chemical and biological pro-
cesses (Baxtor 1990). Over 94 % of the total DDTs in
sediments from all stations except Abu Quir and El
Jamil (in which DDT% ranges from 55 to 75 % of the
total DDTs) as they were presented as p,p′-DDT. The
dominance of DDT in the sediment indicates slow
degradation of DDT or recent inputs of fresh DDT at
these locations (Tavares et al. 1999).
According to Stranberg et al. (1998), the ratio of p,p′-
DDT/p,p′-DDE provides a useful index to know wheth-
er the DDTs at a given site is fresh or aged input. Further
a value <0.33 generally indicates an aged input. In the
present study, the value of >0.33 was found in all sites
except for Nuweiba, Hurghada, and Quseir, indicating
fresh inputs of DDT to those locations (Table 4). This
clearly shows the possibility of long range transport of
DDT to open ocean environment and/or poor degrada-
tion of DDT in offshore sediments.
The relative concentration of the parent DDT com-
pared to its biological metabolites, DDD and DDE, can
be used as indicative indices for assessing the possible
pollution sources. Since the degradation pathway of
DDT in sediments is redox potential-dependent, the
DDD/DDE balances may indicate the prevalent

Table 4 DDT and HCH concentration (ng/g of dry weight) in sediment samples collected from the Egyptian Red Sea coast

Station p,p′-DDE p,p′-DDD p,p′-DDT ∑DDTs p,p′-DDT/ α-HCH β-HCH γ-HCH δ-HCH ∑HCHs α/γ-HCH
p,p′-DDE

Taba 0.046 0.017 0.040 0.103 0.87 0.002 0.001 0.001 0.018 0.021 2.00
Nuweiba 0.007 n.d. n.d. 0.007 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d 0.009 0.009 n.d.
Dahab 0.015 n.d. 0.022 0.037 1.46 0.001 0.001 n.d. 0.011 0.013 n.d.
Na'ama Bay 0.002 n.d. 0.001 0.003 0.50 0.001 0.008 0.002 0.032 0.042 0.50
Sharm 0.002 0.078 0.010 0.089 5.00 0.002 0.006 0.001 0.045 0.054 2.00
Ras Mohamed 0.003 n.d. 0.008 0.010 2.66 0.001 0.005 0.001 0.018 0.025 1.00
El Tour 0.119 0.136 0.202 0.457 1.70 0.002 0.001 0.001 0.082 0.086 2.00
Ras Suder 0.035 n.d. 0.012 0.047 0.34 0.001 n.d. 0.001 0.022 0.024 1.00
Suez 0.003 0.023 0.013 0.039 4.30 0.001 0.002 0.001 0.028 0.032 1.00
Ain Sukhna 0.061 n.d. 0.006 0.067 0.10 0.002 0.001 0.002 0.023 0.027 1.00
Ras Gharib 0.044 0.044 0.058 0.146 1.32 0.001 0.001 n.d. 0.011 0.013 n.d.
Hurghada n.d. n.d. 0.018 0.018 0.00 0.002 0.003 0.002 0.024 0.031 1.00
Safaga 0.037 0.214 0.070 0.321 1.89 0.001 0.007 0.002 0.010 0.020 0.50
Quseir n.d. n.d. 0.003 0.003 0.00 0.001 0.002 0.001 0.044 0.047 1.00
Marsa Alam 0.002 0.021 0.007 0.031 3.50 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.039 0.042 1.00
Bir Shalatin n.d. n.d. 0.044 0.044 0.00 n.d. 0.001 0.001 0.037 0.039 n.d.
Shalatin-Rahaba 0.002 0.009 0.005 0.016 2.50 n.d. n.d. 0.001 0.013 0.015 n.d.
CSQG 6.75 8.51 4.77
ER-L 3.0
ER-M 350.0

CSQG Canadian sediment quality guideline, ER-L effects range low, ER-M effects range median, ∑DDT sum of DDT, DDE, and DDD

conditions in the area. DDE is the main metabolite of
DDT in oxic conditions, whereas the main metabolite in
anoxic conditions is DDD (Tolosa et al. 1995). The ratio
of (DDE + DDD)/∑DDTs>0.5 can be thought of as
being subjected to long-term weathering (Hitch and
Day 1992; Zhang et al. 1999). In our study, this ratio
ranges from 0.0 to 1.0 (Fig. 2) and it was more than 0.5
in all sites, except for Dahab, Ras Mohamed, Hurghada,
Quseir, and Bir Shalatin, showing that DDT in the
sediment from these sites mainly came from the weath-
ered agriculture soils.
When the ratio of DDD/DDE is less than unity, this
reflects that biodegradation of DDTs was predominant
under aerobic conditions, while when it is more than
unity, it means that the biodegradation was under
anaerobic conditions (Hitch and Day 1992). In all
studied sediment samples, the degradation was carried
out under aerobic conditions, except for Sharm, Suez,
Ras Gharib, El Tour, Safaga, Marsa Alam, and Shala-
tin Rahaba stations at which the DDT degradation
took place under anaerobic conditions (Fig. 3).
The distribution of HCHs in sediments
Concentrations of total HCHs were in the range of 0.009
to 0.086 ng/g, which were recorded in Nuweiba and El
Tour, respectively. A sediment sample collected form
Sharm has the next higher value of total HCHs
(0.054 ng/g). All the remaining stations showed relatively
low values ranging from 0.013 to 0.047 ng/g dry weight.
Composition differences of HCH isomers in the envi-
ronment could indicate different contamination sources
(Doong et al. 2002). Technical HCH has been utilized as a
broad spectrum pesticide for agricultural purpose. The
typical technical HCH generally contains 55–80 % of α-
HCH, 5–14 % of β-HCH, 8–15 % of γ-HCH, and 2–
16 % of δ-HCH (Lee et al. 2001). The physicochemical
properties of these HCH isomers are different. β-HCH
has the lowest water solubility and vapor pressure and is
the most stable and relatively resistant to microbial deg-
radation (Ramesh et al. 1991). Also it should be noted that
α-HCH can be converted to β-HCH in the environment
(Wu et al. 1997; Walker et al. 1999). Therefore, the
predominance of α-HCH isomer in some environmental
samples reflects the recent use of technical HCH (Kannan
et al. 1995). Many studies have reported that β-HCH was
dominant in sediments from the river or estuary environ-
ment after long-term migration and transformation (Wu et
al. 1999; Lee et al. 2001; Doong et al. 2002). Investigation
Environ Monit Assess
of the composition of HCH isomers measured in this work
showed that the average compositions of HCH isomers
measured in the samples are α-HCH (3.3 %), β-HCH
(7.2 %), γ-HCH (3.2 %), and δ-HCH (86.46 %) which
reflects the transformation of most α-HCH to δ-HCH to
be the predominant isomer in the sediments collected
from the Red Sea coast. The ratios of α- to γ-isomer (α/
γ ratios) range from 0 to 2 which indicated that there are
no fresh inputs of HCHs to the environment (Table 4).
The distribution of cyclodienes in sediments
Cyclodiene chemical compounds such as aldrin, diel-
drin, chlordane, and endrin are used as insecticides and
rodenticides. Production of chlordane was suspended in
1976, and aldrin and dieldrin were banned in most
developing countries. Cyclodienes are readily bioaccu-
mulated and picked up in marine food webs because
they are adsorbed on sediment and other organic matter.
Total cyclodienes (aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, endrin alde-
hyde, endrin ketone, heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide, γ-
chlorodane, α-chlordane, methoxychlor, endosulfan I,
endosulfan II, and endosulfan sulfate) ranged from
0.075 ng/g at Shalatin Rahaba to 0.902 ng/g at Quseir.
γ-Chlordane was the majority in all studied samples,
which is expected, since γ-chlordane is one of the main
components of technical-grade chlordane (Dearth and
Hites 1991). The next higher quantity was endrin ketone
(0.292 ng/g) at Quseir and then methoxychlor at Marsa
Alam (0.117 ng/g) (Table 5). Aldrin was not recorded in
most of the sites except at Ras Mohamed, Hurghada,
and Shalatin Rahaba, with values of 0.008, 0.005, and
0.001 ng/g, respectively. Dieldrin was not detected in all
of the sites, except for Safaga and Marsa Alam with
values of 0.002 and 0.004 ng/g, respectively. Also,
endrin aldehyde was not detected at all sites except Taba
and El Tour with values of 0.002 and 0.163 ng/g. Hep-
tachlor epoxide residues were lower than its parent
heptachlor because heptachlor epoxide dissolves more
easily in water although it can remain in the sediment for
many years (Khan et al. 2010).
Endosulfan was widely used as an insecticide in
agriculture. Nevertheless, plant protection products con-
taining endosulfan cannot be applied any longer since
2006, as the European Decision EC/864/2005 estab-
lished the withdrawal of products containing endosulfan
(Gómez et al. 2011). Technical endosulfan contains two
isomers, endosulfan I and endosulfan II in an approxi-
mately 7:3 ratio along with some impurities and
Environ Monit Assess

0.001

0.009

0.009
0.003
0.004
0.017
0.003
0.005
0.018
0.004
0.003
0.076
degradation products (Rice et al. 1997). In the present

n.d.

n.d.
17 study, endosulfan II is predominant over endosulfan I,
which may be due to the fact that isomerization between

0.054

0.102
0.087

0.083

0.109
0.055

0.042
0.532
n.d.
n.d.

n.d.

n.d.

n.d.

n.d.
the parent isomers can occur in aqueous systems. Endo-
16

0.004 sulfan sulfate is the predominant residue of technical-

0.104

0.010
0.029

0.004

0.100
0.368
0.117
grade endosulfan, which finds its way into aerobic and
n.d.

n.d.
n.d.

n.d.

n.d.

n.d.
15

anaerobic aquatic environments (Gómez et al. 2011). It

0.292 is less volatile and more persistent than the parent com-

0.003
0.438

0.106

0.035
0.029
0.903
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.

n.d.

n.d.

n.d.
pounds, which explains why its quantities are almost
14

equal to that of endosulfan II and more than that of

endosulfan I in most of the stations.
0.002

0.021
0.062
0.035

0.035
0.050
0.017
0.222
n.d.

n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.

n.d.
13

The average composition of cyclodiene compo-

nents are 21.5 % for γ-chlordane, 15.3 % for endrin
0.005

0.037

0.009
0.125
0.012
0.036

0.030
0.004

0.064
0.322
ketone, 11.2 % for methoxychlor, 10.5 % for endosul-
n.d.

n.d.

n.d.

n.d.
12

fan sulfate, 8.3 % for endrin, 7.5 % for heptachlor,

6.5 % for endosulfan II, 6.1 % for endosulfan I, 6 %
0.002
0.075
0.397
Table 5 Cyclodienes concentration (ng/g of dry weight) in sediment samples collected from the Egyptian Red Sea coast

0.03

0.03

0.02
0.12
0.09
0.01
0.02

for α-chlordane, 4.7 %, heptachlor epoxide, 2.7 % for

n.d.
n.d.

n.d.

n.d.
11

endrin aldehyde, 0.2 % for aldrin, and 0.1 % for

0.015

0.031

0.081
0.027

0.006
0.022
0.019
0.318
0.117

dieldrin.
n.d.
n.d.

n.d.

n.d.

n.d.
10

Comparison with data from other regions

0.09
0.13
0.01
0.05

0.03
0.03
0.01
0.02
0.37
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.

n.d.
9

Marine sediments are considered as one of the most

0.003

0.026
0.008
0.006
0.024
0.023

important sinks for OCPs, which concentrations in

0.07

0.05

0.21
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.

sediments have been used in monitoring programs to

8

indicate environmental quality. Concentrations of a

0.123
0.163
0.050

0.006
0.103
0.040

0.058
0.076
0.030
0.649

range of organochlorines (OCls) have been measured

n.d.
n.d.

n.d.

n.d.
7

worldwide, and the results are summarized in Table 6,

compared with the results obtained from this study. It
0.008

0.038
0.009
0.034

0.089
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.

n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.

is clear that the levels of all kinds of OCls in the

6

Egyptian Red Sea coast are lower than that of all the
0.02

0.02
0.03
0.01
0.06
0.04
0.03
0.03
0.08
0.05
0.37
n.d.
n.d.

n.d.

mentioned regions all over the world.

5

Correlation of OCPs and characteristics of sediments

0.034

0.005
0.014
0.028

0.072

0.153
n.d.
n.d.

n.d.
n.d.
n.d.

n.d.

n.d.
n.d.
4

The concentration of contaminant in sediment

0.003
0.024
0.317

depends largely on the retaining capacity of the

0.08

0.01

0.09
0.11
n.d.
n.d.

n.d.

n.d.

n.d.
n.d.

n.d.
3

sediments as it is evident from the fact that sedi-

ments with large amounts of clay minerals can
0.08

0.05

0.01

0.07
0.02

0.05
0.28
n.d.
n.d.

n.d.

n.d.

n.d.
n.d.

n.d.

retain larger amounts of pesticide residues than

2

the sandy clay or sandy silt sediments (Sarkar

0.002

0.018
0.148
0.040
0.052
0.013
0.032
0.075
0.02

0.03

0.43

1994). From Table 7, it is clear that all the sam-

n.d.
n.d.

n.d.
1

ples are sandy sediments which explain the low

levels of OCPs in most of the samples. Moreover,
Heptachlor epoxide

Endosulfan sulfate
Endrin Aldehyde

the diffusion of organochlorine contaminants

Endrin Ketone

∑ cyclodienes
Methoxychlor

Endosulfan II

through the pores of the sedimentary layers quite

Endosulfan I
α-Chlordane
γ-Chlordane
Cyclodienes

Heptachlor

efficiently influences the variation in concentration

Dieldrin
Endrin
Aldrin

of various OCPs in sediments of different charac-

teristics (Sarkar 1994).
 Environ Monit Assess

Fig. 2 Ratio of (DDE + 1.200

DDE+DDD/ DDT
DDD)/DDT of sediment
samples collected from the
1.000
Egyptian Red Sea coast

Concentrations (ppb dry weight)

0.800

0.600

0.400

0.200

0.000

Stations

Table 7 shows the Pearson's correlations between
sediment characteristics, TOC%, TOM%, CO3%, total
PCBs, total pesticides, and total cyclodines. Total
PCBs has no correlation with any of the above varia-
bles, while total pesticides represented only low cor-
relations with Mud%. Total cyclodines represented
low correlations with sand% and silt%, while total
DDTs and total HCHs showed high correlation with
Mud%. No correlations were observed between
TOC% or TOM% and the above-studied variables.
PCA
PCA is a multivariate technique used to reduce the
number of variables to a smaller set of orthogonal
factors for easier interpretation by displaying the cor-
relations existing among the original variables. Data
submitted for the analysis were arranged in a matrix,
where each column corresponds to one organochlorine
component and each row represents sediment location.
The number of factors extracted from the variables
was determined according to Kaiser's rules. This cri-
terion retains only factors with eigenvalues that exceed
one. Three sets of variable data were subjected to the
above factor analysis. The first step in the multivariate
statistical analysis was the application of PCA with the
aim of grouping the 17 locations by the loading plots
for 30 OCls contaminants. Since the raw data have
provided negative loadings, we applied the varimax
rotation for the correlation greater than 0.30 concen-
trations of 17 locations and 30 OCls were also

Fig. 3 Ratio of DDD/DDE 45.000

of sediment samples col-
40.000
lected from the Egyptian DDD/DDE
concentrations (ppb dry weight)

Red Sea coast 35.000

30.000

25.000

20.000

15.000

10.000

5.000

0.000

Stations
Environ Monit Assess

Table 6 Concentrations (ng/g dry weight) of PCBs and organochlorine pesticide residues in sediments collected worldwide

Location Pollutant Range Survey year Reference

Hugli estuary, West Bengal, northeast India ∑HCHs 0.11–0.40 2003 Guzzella et al. (2005)
∑DDTs 0.18–1.93
∑PCBs 0.18–2.33
Salton Sea, California, USA ∑DDTs 10–40 2000–2001 Sapozhnikova et al. (2004)
∑PCBs 116–304
Mid-Black Sea Turkey Aldrin 25–151 1998–2000 Bakan and Ariman (2004)
Lindane 5–37
Dieldrin 7–64
p,p′-DDT 18–31
p,p′-DDD 24–71
p,p′-DDE ND–7
α-HCH ND–5
δ-HCH 5–36
Heptachlor epoxide ND-21
Masan Bay, Korea ∑PCBs 1.24–41.4 2003 Hong et al. (2003)
∑DDTs 0.28–89.2
∑HCHs nd–1.03
Dar es Salaam City, Tanzania ∑DDTs 12–48.4 2002 Mwevura et al. (2002)
Dieldrin <1.2–38.1
γ-HCH <0.8
The sewer system in Hanoi, Vietnam ∑DDTs 4.4 to 1,100 2006 Hoai et al. (2010)
∑PCBs 1.3 to 384
∑HCHs <0.2 to 36
Vietnam Hong et al. (2008)
Ha Long Bay ∑HCHs n.d.–0.85 2003–2004
Hai Phong Bay 0.15–1.0
Ba Lat estuary 0.03–0.26
Ha Long Bay ∑PCBs 0.11–10.1
Hai Phong Bay 0.45–18.7
Ba Lat estuary 0.04–0.26
Gulf of Aden, Yemen ∑PCBs 0.40–4.97 2007 Mostafa et al. (2007)
∑DDT ND–0.74
∑HCHs ND–0.07
Red Sea, Egypt ∑PCBs 0.40–6.17 2009 Present study
∑DDTs 0.003–0.457
∑HCHs 0.009–0.086
Cyclodienes 0.075–0.902

selected. The majority of the variance (91.69 %) of the
scaled data was explained by two eigenvectors–prin-
cipal components. The first principal component fac-
tor (PCF-1) explained 59.45 % and the second
principal component factors (PCF-2) explained
32.25 % of the total variances (Table 8). PCF-1 had
a strong significant correlation with Taba (0.919),
Nuweiba (0.753), Na'ama Bay (0.876), Ras Mohamed
(0.906), Sharm (0.885), Ras Suder (0.918), Suez
(0.758), Hurghada (0.919), Safaga (0.878), Marsa
Alam (0.898), and Shalatin Rahaba (0.740). PCF-2
had a strong significant correlation with Dahab
(0.836) and Ras Gharib (0.719), while Ain Sukhna,
Quseir, and Bir Shalatin locations are distributed be-
tween PCF-1 and PCF-2 in almost equal loading fac-
tors. This factor analysis shows that most of the
 Environ Monit Assess

Table 7 Pearson's correlations between sediment characteristics and total PCBs, total pesticides, total cyclodienes

Variable ∑PCBs ∑pest ∑Cyclod. CO3% TOC% TOM% Sand% Silt% Mud% ∑DDTs

Total PCBs 1
Total pest −0.069 1
Total cyclodiene −0.249 0.633 1
CO3% 0.027 −0.180 −0.212 1
TOC% −0.150 0.121 0.106 0.144 1
TOM% −0.153 0.120 0.106 0.146 1.000 1
Sand% −0.103 −0.413 −0.575 0.240 0.255 0.256 1
Silt% 0.108 0.379 0.554 −0.240 −0.247 −0.248 −0.998 1
Mud% −0.071 0.582 0.325 0.112 −0.085 −0.087 0.034 −0.090 1
Total DDTs 0.069 0.639 0.254 −0.047 0.139 0.139 0.021 −0.059 0.709 1
Total HCHs −0.265 0.521 0.542 −0.101 −0.296 −0.297 −0.322 0.287 0.704 0.457

Correlation is significant at p<0.05 (low) (italic); correlation is significant at P<0.005 (medium) (bold); correlation is significant at
P<0.001 (high) (bold)

studied locations have similarity in the distribution of the low correlations between the OCPs variables and the
OC pollutants. This was proved by the CA as represented different natures of their input to the environment, which
in Fig. 4, which shows similar groups of distribution.
The second step in the multivariate statistical analysis Table 8 Factor loadings (varimax normalized with Kaiser nor-
malized: marked loadings are >0.70) for two principal compo-
was the application of PCA with the aim of grouping the nent factors (PCFs) for noncontaminated and for fairly
ten PCB contaminants as variables by the loading plots contaminated locations
for 17 locations. The majority of the variance (86.12 %)
Sampling location Component
of the scaled data was explained by four eigenvectors–
principal components distributed as PCF-1 (31.66 %), PCF-1 PCF-2
PCF-2 (25.80 %), PCF-3 (15.39 %), and PCF-4
(13.28 %) (Table 9). PCF-1 had a strong significant Taba 0.919 0.330
correlation for PCBs 18, 28, 52, and 101, while PCF-2 Nuweiba 0.753 0.595
has a strong significant correlation for PCB 44, 180, and Dahab 0.325 0.836
194. PCF-3 and PCF-4 represents only one PCB (PCB Na'ama Bay 0.876 0.434
138 and PCB 153, respectively), which explains the Ras Mohamed 0.906 0.228
different patterns for these two PCBs. This factor anal- Sharm 0.885 0.443
ysis was proved by Pearson's correlations obtained for El Tour 0.167 0.932
individual PCB (Table 10) as shown by significant Ras Suder 0.918 0.345
correlations between PCB 18, 28, 52, and 101. Also, Suez 0.758 0.611
significant correlations were reported between PCB 44, Ain Sukhna 0.663 0.644
180, and 194, while PCB 138 and PCB 153 showed no Ras Gharib 0.662 0.719
significant correlations with any of the remaining PCBs. Hurghada 0.919 0.331
The third step in the multivariate statistical analysis Safaga 0.878 0.419
was the application of PCA with the aim of grouping 20 Quseir 0.677 0.683
pesticide contaminants as variables by the loading plots Marsa Alam 0.898 0.412
for 17 locations. The majority of the variance (84.31 %) Shalatin Rahaba 0.740 0.556
of the scaled data was explained by seven eigenvectors– Bir Shalatin 0.682 0.600
principal components distributed as PCF-1 (22.33 %),
% of variance 59.45 32.25
PCF-2 (12.72 %), PCF-3 (11.74 %), PCF-4 (11.59 %),
Cumulative % 59.45 91.69
PCB-5 (9.51 %), PCF-6 (9.07 %), and PCF-7 (7.35 %)
(Table 11). The distribution of seven factors represents Bold is the marked loading
Environ Monit Assess

Fig. 4 Hierarchical dendo-

gram for 17 sampling loca-
tions represented by Ward's
hierarchical clustering
method

are confirmed by the lack of correlations between indi- of Fig. 5 shows that the main clusters contain domi-
vidual OCPs (Table 12). nantly PCBs, α-chlordane, dieldrin, β-HCH, endosul-
The property of individual organochlorine compo- fan I, p,p′-DDD, endosulfan II, endrin aldehyde, p,p′-
nents which causes their dominancy in each factor
cannot be clearly indicated. Therefore, it is impossible Table 9 Factor loadings (varimax normalized with Kaiser nor-
malized: marked loadings are >0.70) for two principal compo-
to predict the distribution patterns of individual organ- nent factors (PCFs) for noncontaminated and for fairly
ochlorine components in contaminated areas. The contaminated with PCBs
strong adsorption of organochlorines by sediments
caused by long-range atmospheric transport processes PCBs Component
and regional fallout deposition in combination with PCF-1 PCF-2 PCF-3 PCF-4
their transformation, behavior in sediment–water sys-
tem, and mobility imply random distribution. PCB 18 0.899 0.293 −0.155 0.203
Hierarchical CA (Ward's method applying Pear- PCB 28 0.802 0.048 −0.174 0.477
son's correction) of organochlorine components used PCB 52 0.892 0.216 0.296 −0.129
average linkage between groups, and squared Euclid- PCB 44 −0.169 0.719 0.151 −0.193
ean distance and standard deviation <1 showed good PCB 101 0.701 −0.356 0.549 −0.061
efficiency for sediment samples collected from the PCB 118 0.508 0.694 0.177 0.104
Red Sea coast, which presents different sources depo- PCB 138 0.048 0.242 0.914 0.166
sition (Fig. 5). Two big clusters with subgroups and PCB 153 0.099 0.032 0.148 0.962
three small clusters could be distinguished which coin- PCB 180 0.168 0.831 0.133 0.149
cides with the previously defined factor analysis. The PCB 194 0.317 0.755 −0.407 0.120
linkage distance between classes is high (15.0–20.0), % of variance 31.66 25.80 15.39 13.28
implying a significant distance between them. A suf- Cumulative % 31.66 57.46 72.85 86.12
ficient number of data can statistically explain the high
values obtained for linkage distance. The dendrogram Bold is the marked loading
 Environ Monit Assess

Table 10 Pearson correlations obtained for PCB data

PCB 18 PCB 28 PCB 52 PCB 44 PCB 101 PCB 118 PCB 138 PCB 153 PCB 180 PCB 194

PCB 18 1
PCB 28 0.888 1
PCB 52 0.793 0.572 1
PCB 44 0.079 −0.106 0.076 1
PCB 101 0.412 0.430 0.694 −0.234 1
PCB 118 0.611 0.390 0.649 0.242 0.141 1
PCB 138 0.017 −0.025 0.339 0.225 0.402 0.366 1
PCB 153 0.275 0.490 0.045 −0.092 0.093 0.185 0.278 1
PCB 180 0.365 0.230 0.310 0.429 −0.065 0.687 0.303 0.163 1
PCB 194 0.570 0.364 0.322 0.331 −0.262 0.605 −0.092 0.112 0.585 1
∑PCBs 0.861 0.704 0.820 0.352 0.410 0.817 0.373 0.298 0.699 0.601

Correlation is significant at p<0.05 (low) (italic); correlation is significant at P<0.005 (medium) (bold); correlation is significant at
P<0.001 (high) (bold)

Table 11 Factor loadings (varimax normalized with Kaiser normalized: marked loadings are >0.70) for two principal component
factors (PCFs) for noncontaminated and for fairly contaminated with pesticides

Pesticides Component

PCF-1 PCF-2 PCF-3 PCF-4 PCF-5 PCF-6 PCF-7

α-HCH 0.355 0.245 0.186 0.449 0.515 0.190 0.394

β-HCH −0.152 0.830 −0.093 0.168 −0.149 −0.094 0.017
γ-HCH 0.010 0.798 −0.073 −0.106 0.391 −0.020 0.196
δ-HCH 0.791 0.125 0.383 −0.179 −0.080 0.061 0.145
Heptachlor −0.069 0.040 −0.083 −0.185 −0.189 −0.023 0.817
Aldrin −0.215 0.072 −0.298 −0.037 0.320 −0.189 0.445
Heptachlor epoxide −0.072 0.055 −0.102 0.098 0.875 −0.101 −0.195
γ-Chlordane 0.017 −0.018 0.930 0.118 0.056 −0.062 −0.076
Dieldrin −0.076 0.252 −0.093 −0.229 0.039 0.851 −0.298
p,p′-DDE 0.771 −0.083 −0.037 0.413 0.335 −0.019 −0.231
α-Chlordane 0.116 0.014 −0.125 0.898 0.072 −0.044 −0.210
Endrin 0.761 −0.360 −0.170 −0.105 −0.221 −0.145 −0.050
Endosulfan I 0.479 0.406 −0.213 0.017 −0.506 −0.223 −0.154
Endrin aldehyde 0.962 −0.002 0.010 0.084 0.021 −0.061 −0.032
Endosulfan II 0.525 0.387 0.366 0.464 0.005 0.082 −0.033
p,p′-DDD 0.441 0.523 −0.064 0.403 −0.0148 0.266 −0.284
p,p′-DDT 0.896 0.031 −0.035 0.279 −0.080 0.050 −0.097
Endrin ketone 0.000 −0.192 0.852 −0.400 −0.110 0.077 −0.094
Endosulfan sulfate 0.002 −0.401 0.104 0.200 −0.079 0.803 0.179
Methoxychlor −0.120 −0.382 0.454 −0.532 −0.278 0.428 −0.015
% of variance 22.33 12.72 11.74 11.59 9.51 9.07 7.35
Cumulative % 22.33 35.05 46.79 58.38 67.89 76.96 84.31

Bold is the marked loading

Table 12 Pearson's correlations obtained between pesticide data
Environ Monit Assess

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N

α-HCH 1
β-HCH 0.219 1
γ-HCH 0.393 0.510
δ-HCH 0.373 −0.001 1
Heptachlor 0.025 −0.091 −0.006
Aldrin 0.095 0.237 −0.200
Heptachlor epoxide 0.374 −0.025 −0.219
γ-Chlordane 0.150 −0.133 0.256 1
Dieldrin −0.060 0.083 0.008 −0.124
p,p′-DDE 0.489 −0.233 0.398 0.095 1
α-Chlordane 0.367 0.197 −0.091 0.045 0.533 1
Endrin 0.021 −0.226 0.494 −0.166 0.473 0.000 1
Endosulfan I −0.109 0.366 0.352 −0.150 0.236 0.194 0.417 1
Endrin aldehyde 0.331 −0.146 0.756 0.070 0.781 0.205 0.677 0.427 1
Endosulfan II 0.558 0.234 0.535 0.301 0.524 0.327 0.137 0.224 0.530 1
p,p′-DDD 0.239 0.385 0.203 0.000 0.495 0.391 0.116 0.376 0.452 0.678 1
p,p′-DDT 0.305 −0.084 0.591 0.085 0.827 0.395 0.622 0.476 0.906 0.536 0.656 1
Endrin ketone −0.163 −0.260 0.369 0.766 −0.199 −0.424 −0.009 −0.221 −0.016 −0.003 −0.217 −0.086 1
Endosulfan sulfate 0.218 −0.335 0.028 0.098 0.007 0.117 0.071 −0.224 −0.056 −0.009 −0.034 0.045 0.132 1
Methoxychlor −0.321 −0.341 0.180 0.307 −0.412 −0.567 0.101 −0.238 −0.231 −0.262 −0.350 −0.238 0.742 0.487
∑pesticides 0.348 −0.153 0.706 0.653 0.585 0.168 0.411 0.253 0.677 0.614 0.463 0.732 0.526 0.241

Correlation is significant at p<0.05 (low) (italic); correlation is significant at P<0.005 (medium) (bold); correlation is significant at P<0.001 (high) (bold)
A α-HCH, B β-HCH, C δ-HCH, D γ-chlordane, E p,p′-DDE, F α-chlordane, G endrin, H endosulfan I, I endrin aldehyde, J endosulfan II, K p,p′-DDD, L p,p′-DDT, M endrin ketone,
N endosulfan sulfate

Fig. 5 Hierarchical dendo-
gram for 30 objects repre-
sented by Ward's
hierarchical clustering
method
DDT, and endrin as well as the other small clusters
including the remaining organochlorines.
Risk assessment
Contaminated sediments comprise organic and in-
organic materials that accumulate on the bottom of
water bodies which contain substances that may
adversely affect human health, the environment,
or environmental values. Contamination of sedi-
ments may result from both point sources (e.g.,
drains and spills) and/or diffuse sources (e.g., ae-
rial deposition, soil erosion, and groundwater dis-
charges). It is important to consider both sediment
particles and sediment pore waters as contaminant
sources when assessing sediments. The importance
Environ Monit Assess
of these sources and associated exposure pathways
varies depending on the nature of the sediment-
dwelling organisms and assemblages present. The
dual role of sediments as both a source and sink
of dissolved contaminants is widely recognized. In
addition to their influence on surface water quality,
sediments represent a source of bioavailable con-
taminants to benthic biota and, hence, bioaccumu-
lation in the food chain. Contaminated sediments
can, therefore, affect aquatic ecosystem health and
may indirectly impact human health, e.g., through
consumption of contaminated shellfish. Table 13
demonstrates the chronic daily intake values of
pesticides along the Red Sea coast of Egypt and
when we compare the result of the Red Sea values
with the sediment assessment levels (Interim
Environ Monit Assess

Table 13 Chronic daily intake

of organochlorine compounds Places PCB's intake Pest intake ∑DDT intake ∑HCH intake ∑cyclo
from sediment's of the Red Sea
Taba 21.20 3.27 0.61 0.13 25.39
Nuweibaa 6.92 1.76 0.04 0.06 16.67
Dahab 2.45 2.28 0.22 0.24 18.21
Na'amaa 9.96 1.17 0.02 0.25 8.99
Ras Mohamed 13.53 0.73 0.06 0.15 5.24
Sharm 13.73 2.93 0.53 0.32 20.89
El-Tour 4.37 7.03 2.69 0.51 38.26
Ras Suder 36.35 1.66 0.28 0.14 12.48
Suez 5.34 1.06 0.23 0.19 20.81
Ain Sukhna 6.35 2.44 0.39 0.16 18.82
Ras Ghareb 5.88 3.31 0.86 0.08 23.68
NIOF (Hur) 14.99 2.18 0.11 0.18 18.92
Safaga 28.14 3.32 1.89 0.12 13.14
Quseir 12.66 5.61 0.02 0.28 53.14
Marsa Alam 14.99 2.60 0.18 0.25 21.70
Shalatin Rahba 2.38 0.63 0.26 0.23 31.40
Bir Shalatin 10.37 3.63 0.09 0.09 4.43

Sediment Quality Guidelines or ISQGs). The
guidelines contain two concentrations, the ISQG-
Low concentration (or trigger value) and the
ISQG-High concentration. The trigger value is a
threshold concentration and below this concentra-
tion, the frequency of adverse effects is expected
to be very low. The ISQG-High concentration is
intended to represent a concentration above which
adverse biological effects are expected to occur
more frequently. From our results, we found that
PCB's intake from sediment ranged from 2.38 to
36.35 μg/kg/day and when compared with ISQG
values, we can concluded that all stations within
the trigger value, except at Ras Suder and Safaga,
recorded an elevated level indicating that the haz-
ard may have occurred from ingestion in these two
stations. In contrast, ∑DDT intake was less than
trigger values of ISQGs.
Conclusions
This study documents the analysis of PCBs and OCP
residues in sediments along the Egyptian Red Sea
coast. OCP residues detected were DDTs, HCHs,
aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, endrin aldehyde, endrin ke-
tone, heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide, γ-chlordane, α-
chlordane, methoxychlor, endosulfan I, endosulfan II,
and endosulfan sulfate. It was concluded that the
PCBs are predominant over the rest of the pesticides
in all stations. For HCHs, δ-HCH was the most abun-
dant among the studied isomers of HCHs along the
coast. The ratio of DDE + DDD/∑DDT indicated that
DDT in the sediment from these sites mainly came
from the weathered agriculture soils. The ratio of
DDD/DDE showed that DDT degradation took place
under anaerobic conditions. PCA was applied on the
data and it was found that the property of individual
organochlorine components which causes their domi-
nancy in each principal component factor (PCF) can-
not be clearly indicated, and their clustering was not
observed. Therefore, it is impossible to predict the
distribution patterns of individual organochlorine
components in the contaminated area. Through appli-
cation of CA, it was concluded that the main clus-
ters contain dominantly PCBs, α-chlordane,
dieldrin, β-HCH, endosulfan I, p,p′-DDD, endosul-
fan II, endrin aldehyde, p,p′-DDT, and endrin as
well as the other small clusters including the
remaining organochlorines.

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