Distribution characteristics of nonylphenols in the artificial Lake Shihwa, and surrounding creeks in Korea

Nonylphenols were determined from the water, suspended particle, and sediment samples taken from the Lake Shihwa in Korea and its surrounding creeks flowing through municipal and industrial areas, and into the lake. The nonylphenols were detected at the concentration ranges of 0.0–41.3 μg/l, 0.0–116.6 and 0.3–31.7 mg/kg in water, suspended particle and sediment samples respectively. The contamination levels of nonylphenols were increased along the down stream. Considerably high levels of nonylphenols were found at the industrial area compared to the municipal area. No remarkable differences were found between the isomer patterns of nonylphenols for the sample matrices of each sampling site, i.e. water, suspended solids and sediment. Strong correlations between water and sediment with 105.2 of the mean partition coefficient (Koc) were observed. These indicate that most of nonylphenols came from industrial wastewater at high level. It is thought that the water quality of the Lake Shihwa is affected greatly by industrial environments surrounding.