Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)‎ and chlorinated pesticides contamination in coral reef skeleton from the Egyptian Red Sea Coast

Abstract EN

The residues of 17 organochlorine pollutants in coral reef skeleton (Acropora sp.) collected from 20 different locations in April 1999 from Egyptian Red Sea Coast were analyzed by GC.

The pollutants studied were α-, β-, γ-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCHs), Cyclodienes (heptachlor, aldrin, dieldrin, heptachlorepoxide) as well as sum DDT (p,p'-DDE, p,p'-DDD, and p,p'-DDT) and seven individual polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) congeners.

The concentrations of sum DDT were in a range from 1 to 12 ng g1 with an average 6 ng g1.

The highest DDT concentrations were recorded at Sharm El-Maya (St.

No.

11), whereas the PCB levels ranged from 6.2 to 48.3 ng g1 with an average 18.9 ng g1 and HCHs level ranged from 0.8 to 14.5 ng g1 with an average 4 ng g1.

The PCBs were dominant in most studied locations.

The present results indicate low to moderate PCBs and pesticides contamination in most of the studied coral reef samples.