Introduction: The future 'Calanque National Park' coastlines of the Bouches-du-Rhône and Var departments in France, constitute one of the ten biodiversity hot spots identified in the Mediterranean basin that receives industrial and urban wastewaters discharged from Marseille and its suburbs.
Materials and methods: Organochlorine pesticides (OCs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured in sediments collected from 12 sampling sites (C1-C12) of sewage discharge to the sea from the wastewater treatment plant of Cortiou-Marseille. This study aims to determine the extent of these compounds in the sediments and to establish the possible sources of these contaminants.
Results and discussion: Total pesticides in the sediments ranged from 1.2 to 190.6 ng g(-1) dry weight of sediment. The highest value was found at station C1, with a decreasing trend in total OC concentrations seaward. Among these compounds, the concentrations of the sum of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (ΣDDT) were the highest, ranging from 0.7 to 114.3 ng g(-1). PCB concentrations, expressed as equivalent to Arochlor 1260, varied from 9.1 to 226.9 ng g(-1). Individually, the dominant coplanar PCB congeners CB-153, CB-138 and CB-101. Generally, PCB concentrations at stations C2, C3, C5 and C7 were higher than those at stations C10, C11 and C12. Through some pollution indices, we showed the long-term contamination input of these OCs (DDT, endosulfan, HCH and heptachlor cases) rather than a recent release resulting from degradation and long-term weathering (dieldrin, aldrin and methoxychlor cases). Occurrence of PCBs might be due to their resistance to degradation processes or/and chronic inputs.
Conclusions: By comparison with available sediment quality guideline (SQG) values, the environmental significance and toxicological implications of PCBs and OCs (i) reveal the probable adverse effects for the sediments from C1, C5, C6, C9 and (ii) confirm the adverse effect for marine biota and more particularly for benthic communities at C2-C4, C7 and C8.