Marine organic pollution history in the Changjiang Estuary and Zhejiang coastal area––HCHs and DDTs stratigraphical records

The variations of concentrations of hexachloro-cyclohexane (HCHs), dichloro diphenyl trichloroethane (DDTs) in surface sediments from the Changjiang Estuary and Zhejiang coastal area suggests that although there is a substantial decrease of these persistent trace compounds since the last two decades, they still presented in recent surface sediments. Their concentration levels in suspended matter are still quite high. In dated sedimentary cores, the DDTs and HCHs concentration peaks appeared in 1960s to 1980s, which approximately corresponded to their production and usage history.