Abstract
Annual discharges of organic matter into Tokyo Bay have been estimated to be ∼1.5–6.6×105 tonnes (expressed as carbon) during 1973–761. We report here new findings of alkylbenzene pollution of sediments from the bay and adjacent areas. The pollution level of alkylbenzenes (0.5–1.4 µg per g dry sediment) is comparable with that of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The vertical distribution of alkylbenzenes in a Tokyo Bay sediment indicates that the pollution started around 1960—at the same time as alkylbenzenesulphonates (synthetic detergents) began to be used widely in the Tokyo area. The alkylbenzenes in the sediments are considered to have been carried with alkylbenzenesulphonates.
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Ishiwatari, R., Takada, H., Yun, SJ. et al. Alkylbenzene pollution of Tokyo Bay sediments. Nature 301, 599–600 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1038/301599a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/301599a0
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