Occurrence of butyltin compounds in marine environment of Gwangyang Bay, Korea

Butyltin (BT) compounds were measured in seawater, sediment, sediment core, settling solids, and plankton from Gwangyang Bay in 2001, Tributyltin (TBT) was detected in seawater from 1 out of the 7 seawater sampling sites and in sediment from 18 out of the 35 sediment sampling sites. The highest concentration of TBT was found in the sediment from the site near Yeosu Harbor (53 ng Sn/g dry wt), acting as the point source for TBT The mean concentrations of TBT were in the order of plankton> settling solids> sediment. The degradation indexes ([DBT]+[MBT]/[TBT]) for the plankton were less than 1, indicating the possibility of recent inputs of TBT. The indexes for the sediment and settling solids ranged from 1.14 to 8.73. The composition of the BT compounds found in the settling solids was similar to that found in the sediment. The vertical profile of the total BT compounds in the sediment was characterized by an abrupt decline from the surface. However, no butyltin compounds appeared below a depth of 10 cm, corresponding to the 1980s. Accordingly, the current results demonstrated that the levels of all butyltin species in the environment of Gwangyang Bay were relatively lower than those in other polluted coastal areas. The vertical profile also suggested a fairly recent history for the down-core.