살포식 패류양식해역인 진주만 표층 퇴적물의 오염도

We investigated the concentrations of acid volatile sulfide (AVS), ignition loss (IL), total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), and metallic elements (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Pb, and Zn), in August 2015, to determine the spatial distribution and pollution status of organic matter and metals in the surface sediment of Jinju Bay, a spraying shellfish farming area, Korea. The concentrations of organic matter and metallic elements were significantly higher in the southern part of the bay than in the mouth and center of the bay. The C/N ratio (5.7~8.0) in the sediment represents the dominance of organic matter of oceanic origin in the surface sediment of the study area. The concentrations of AVS, TOC, and metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, and Zn) were much lower than the values of the sediment quality guidelines applied in Korea. Based on the results of the pollution load index (PLI) and ecological risk index (ERI), the metal concentrations in the surface sediment of Jinju Bay have a weakly negative ecological effect on benthic organisms although the sediments with high metal pollution status are distributed in the southern parts of the bay, with high dense shellfish farming areas. Thus, the surface sediments in Jinju Bay are not polluted with organic matter and are slightly polluted with metallic elements.