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U.S. Department of Energy
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Evidence for organochlorine contamination in Lake Tahoe, California

Conference ·
OSTI ID:382721
;  [1]
  1. Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States). Dept. of Environmental Toxicology
Organochlorine pollutants were measured in mature lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) from Lake Tahoe, California. This is the first report of organochlorine contamination in this lake which is considered to be pristine; Lake Tahoe, an alpine lake, located in the Sierra Nevadas, has not been subject to direct contamination by industrial discharges or agricultural runoff. Multiresidue analysis of chlorinated compounds in the belly flap tissues of lake trout revealed wet weight concentrations of PCBs and DDE in the low ppb range using EIMS and SIM. Full spectra of specific PCB congeners and DDE were obtained using extracts of fish fat tissue. The presence of these pollutants in biota suggests that atmospheric transport may be a significant source of input to the Lake Tahoe ecosystem.
OSTI ID:
382721
Report Number(s):
CONF-9511137--; ISBN 1-880611-03-1
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English