Evaluation of micro-organic pollution in lake sediments: application to Akanoi Bay, Lake Biwa, Japan.

The pollution of lake sediments by organic micro-pollutants has been of growing environmental concern due to their suspected long-term effects on both human health and the surrounding ecosystem. In this research, in order to investigate and evaluate the micro-organic pollution in lake sediments, an analytical methodology consisting of freeze-drying, Soxhlet extraction with dichloromethane, concentration by rotary-evaporator, purification and fractionation by Sep-pak florigil cartridge, and quantification by GC/MS was formulated and applied to the lake sediments of Akanoi Bay, Lake Biwa in Japan. Two polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (i.e., fluoranthene and pyrene) were detected in the collected sediment samples. Based on the horizontal distribution of these two PAHs and the particle size distribution of the sediment samples, it was considered that the river inflows (the land usage in their upstream is mainly paddy field andresidential) into the bay are the major pollution sources.