Temporal trends of chlorinated paraffins (CPs) were analyzed in three sediment cores collected near different potential CP sources along the Swedish Baltic Sea coast. C-8-C-36 CPs were found in sediment dating back to the 1930s. The maximum CP concentrations found in proximity to a metropolitan sewage treatment plant, a wood related industrial area, and a steel factory were 48; 160, and 1400 ng/g d.w., respectively, in sediment sections dated from the early 1990s or the 2000s. The temporal trends agree with statistics on CP importation in Sweden or local industrial activities. MCCPs (C-14-C-17 CPs) and LCCPs (C->= 18 CPs) predominated, in most sediments with average percentage compositions of 47 +/- 20% and 37 +/- 20%, respectively. Concentrations of SCCPs in the three cores showed a decreasing trend in recent years. The temporal trends of MCCPs indicated that these are currently the predominant CPs in use. This study showed for the first time that LCCPs from C-18 to C-36, as well as C-8-C-17 CPs, are persistent in sediments over the last 30-80 years, indicating that CPs are persistent chemicals regaidless of alkane-chain lengths.