Case Study One- Organochlorine Pollution on Great Barrier Reef.
This was an investigation into the levels to which herbicides and pesticides are present in marine sediments on the Great Barrier Reef.
Sediment samples were taken from 16 intertidal and 25 subtidal sites on the reef.
The samples were then analysed for the presence of pesticides and herbicides (Haynes et al, 2000).
Great Barrier reef pollution - Results
The study found low levels of several pesticides and herbicides
Among the pollutants found were:
Atrazine (0.1-0.3 g/kg)
Diuron (0.2-10.1 g/kg)
DDT (0.05-0.26 g/kg)
Concentrations of Diuron were worrying because Diuron is toxic at much lower concentrations (Haynes et al, 2000).
