Relationships between sediment and water PCB concentrations at a marine Superfund site

Conference · Sun Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1995

OSTI ID:230899

Bergen, B J; Nelson, W G ^[1]

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1. Environmental Protection Agency, Narragansett, RI (United States)

Due to slow rates of chemical and biological degradation and a large range of physical properties, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners are useful for studying the geochemistry of hydrophobic organic chemicals. The extent to which PCBs partition to particles and colloidal material in sediments controls their concentration in overlying seawater. New Bedford Harbor is an estuarine system where the presence of PCB-contaminated sediments has resulted in this area`s designation as a Superfund site. As part of a long-term monitoring program at this site, seventy-two sediment samples were collected along a concentration gradient from the severely contaminated upper estuary to relatively uncontaminated Buzzards Bay. All sediments were analyzed for eighteen individual PCB congeners, total organic carbon, grain size, and other parameters. In addition, an extensive data set of dissolved and particulate PCB water column samples were collected at four locations within the harbor. These large high-quality data sets presented a unique opportunity to validate several existing two and three-phase equilibrium partitioning models as well as one kinetic model. These data, combined with additional harbor volume and tidal data, were used to quantify PCB net flux out from the sediments to the overlying water.

• OSTI ID: 230899
• Report Number(s): CONF-9511137--; ISBN 1-880611-03-1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
HARBORS
MASSACHUSETTS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS
SEDIMENT-WATER INTERFACES
SEDIMENTS
US SUPERFUND
WATER CHEMISTRY
WATER POLLUTION