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pp.23-32
Surface sediments (0~4 cm) were sampled at 40 stations from Ulsan Bay and its adjacent areas of Korea, to evaluate the contamination by sewage-derived organic matters using fecal sterols. Some sterols were quantified by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Total concentrations of eight sterols (coprostanol, cholesterol, cholestanol, epicholestanol, epicoprostanol, β-sitosterol, brassicasterol, and stigmasterol) in the sediments from Ulsan Bay and its vicinity varied from 929 to 23,444 ng/g dry weight. The most predominant sterols were cholesterol and coprostanol, accounting for 33~72% of total sterols. The concentration of coprostanol known as the indicator of human feces ranged from 141 to 8,257 ng/g dry weight. In particular, the coprostanol concentrations in the sediments from Jansaengpo Harbor and Taehwa River exceeded the value of 1,000 ng/g dry weight, suggesting that these areas could be considered as the hot-spot zones by municipal sewage contamination. Some molecular indices and multivariate data analysis were used to assess the origin of these sterols in the sediments. Results showed that the major routes of sewage contamination in Ulsan Bay and its vicinity were the input through Jansaengpo Harbor and Taehwa River.
