Author(s)

S. Focardi, R. Barra, K. Pozo, R. Urrutia, 0. Parra, M. Cisternas & P. Pacheco

Abstract

Sedimentary records of organochlorine contaminants in Central Chilean Lakes S. Focardi \ R. Barra^, K. Pozo.\ R.Urrutia ^ O.Parra^ , M. Cisternas^ & P. Pacheco * (I) Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Siena, Siena, Italy (2) Aquatic Systems Research Unit, EULA-Chile Environmental Sciences Centre, Concepcion Chile Abstract Aquatic pollution by persistent organic compounds (POCs) in the southern hemisphere continues to be an important issue. Currently, no historic records of pollution are available to evaluate the inputs of chlorinated compounds and their environmental impact. Sedimentary records have been used to define the historical trend of pollution in lakes located in remote and urban areas. Sediment cores were collected from several urban and remote lakes in central Chile using a kayac sediment corer and cut into 1 cm slices. The organochlorine compounds were isolated in a soxhlet system with n-hexane, and successively identified and quantified by gas chroma

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