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Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 20, No. 7, pp. 344-352, 1989.
Persistent Organochlorines in Japanese Coastal Waters:
An Introspective Summary from a Far East Developed Nation
SHINSUKE TANABE*, NARAYANAN KANNAN*, MINORU FUKUSHIMAf, TAKU OKAMOTOt, TADAAKIWAKIMOTO* and RYO TATSUKAWA*
* Department of Environment Conservation, Ehime University, 3-5-7 Tarumi, Matsuyama 790; tOsaka City Institute of Public Health and Environmental Sciences, Tojo-cho 8-34, Tennoji-ku, Osaka 543; ^.Hiroshima Prefectural Research Center for Environmental Sciences, Minami-machi 16-29, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 734, Japan
Japan has emerged as one of the leading industrialized nations and economic powers in the world. The rapid modernization and industrial development required to achieve this have in certain cases created environmental deterioration and instances of adverse impacts upon public health. This review summarizes the historical, present and likely future impacts of persistent organo-chlorine contaminants on the health of the coastal waters of Japan. It is noted that contaminants such as DDT, HCH, and PCBs are generally exhibiting decreased abundances in Japanese coastal waters with time. However, new environmental challenges are emerging in Japan, including the contamination of coastal ecosystems by chlordane, particular organo-phosphate compounds, dioxins, dibenzofurans, and coplanar PCBs. Extensive studies are continuing on these contaminants, some of which are of considerable toxicological concern in aquatic environments.
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