A fugacity based multimedia environmental fate model of organic contaminants in Massachusetts Bay
- North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States)
A new sewage outfall is being constructed in Massachusetts Bay as part of the pollution abatement program in Boston Harbor. Previous models of potential environmental impact from the new sewage outfall in Massachusetts Bay have either relied upon hydrodynamic transport models that assume conservative behavior of the contaminants or on non-quantitative conceptual models of non-conservative behavior. The authors have found that a more quantitative mass balance model is necessary to better predict contaminant exposure resulting from effluent discharge through the new outfall. Hence, the authors have developed a time-variant, multimedia environmental model of organic contaminants in the air, water, and sediment phases of Massachusetts Bay. This model is based on the fugacity approach developed by Donald Mackay and is a level 4 unsteady-state model that includes flows through the system. Advection, reaction, and intermedia transport processes are incorporated into the model as first order rate processes and parameters for the model include environmental parameters, physical-chemical properties, contaminant loading estimates from major sources, and transport parameters. The model was applied to several organic contaminants found in Massachusetts Bay water and sediment: naphthalene, benzo(a)pyrene, fluoranthene, dieldrin, 4,4{prime}-DDT, and the polychlorinated biphenyl C16(153). Model output includes a steady-state bay-wide average of water and sediment concentrations, relative distribution of mass after one month at steady state, time to reach steady-state, and residence times. The calculated steady-state concentrations were compared to recent observed values. In addition, sensitivity analysis of the model was performed to indicate which model parameters are most sensitive to perturbation.
- OSTI ID:
- 242366
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9511137-; ISBN 1-880611-03-1; TRN: IM9626%%194
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 2. Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) world conference, Vancouver (Canada), 5-9 Nov 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of Second SETAC world congress (16. annual meeting): Abstract book. Global environmental protection: Science, politics, and common sense; PB: 378 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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