Migration of pentachlorophenol in artificial and natural sediments of Puck Bay

Pentachlorophenol (PCP) is an anthropogenic substance, toxic to humans. The major source of this compound in the environment are wastes from factories producing PCP and materials (textiles, wood) treated with PCP. In 2008, a dossier was prepared to support the inclusion of PCP in Annex I to the Protocol of the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution on Persistent Organic Pollutants. The draft decision to add PCP along with its salts (NaPCP) and esters (PCPL) in Annex A of the Stockholm Convention was adopted during the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention in 2015. The aim of present study was to assess the status of contamination in Puck Bay with this harmful substance. The surface bottom sediments of Puck Bay were contaminated with pentachlorophenol to varying degrees, ranging from 17.4 ± 5.6 ng g^-1 d.w. to 230.1 ± 20.8 ng g^-1 d.w. The majority of samples collected from deepwater areas of Puck Bay were contaminated with PCP above 25 ng g^-1 d.w. (value of Predicted No Effect Concentration). It has been assessed that bottom currents occurring in Puck Bay can affect sediments deposited at the Gdynia dumping site.