Occurrence of polychlorinated biphenyl congeners in marine sediment of Makran region, Chabahr bay, Iran.

In this study, selected PCB congeners (IUPAC numbers 28, 52, 101, 138, 153, and 180) were quantified in 34 stations of Chabahr bay and around it in the Makran region of Iran. The sum of total PCB concentrations varied from below the detection limit to 485 ng kg dry weight of sediment. Based on the Canadian Sediment Quality Guidelines, the effect of detected PCBs was negligible for aquatic organisms. According to the dominance of PCB 28 and 52 with average range of 62 to 100% of total PCBs, maritime transportation and atmospheric deposition appear to be the important source of PCBs in this region. Further, the presence of components of commercial products such as ClophenA50 appears to be one of the probable sources.