Quality of bottom material and elutriates in the lower Willamette River, Portland Harbor, Oregon

Book · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:6898398

Fuhrer, G J

In October 1983 the US Geological Survey, in cooperation with the US Army Corp of Engineers, collected bottom-material and water samples from Portland Harbor, Oregon to determine concentrations of trace metals and organic compounds in elutriate-test filtrate and bottom material. Of the trace metals examined in bottom material, concentrations of cadmium slightly exceed those of local rocks, whereas lead and zinc exceedance is substantially larger. Of the organochlorine compounds examined in bottom material chlordane, DDD, DDE, DDT, dieldrin, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's) were detected and quantified in at least 30% of the samples tested. A large DDT concentrations near Doane Lake outlet is indicative of recent contamination. Polychlorinated biphenyls are ubiquitous in bottom sediments; median concentrations are nearly 65 micrograms/kilogram and as large as 550 microgram/kilogram PCB loading to the Columbia River from Willamette River suspended sediment has been estimated to be 72 kilograms/year, nearly five times the PCB dredge load of 15 kilogram/year. The acid and base-neutral extractable di-n-butyl phthalate and bis (2-methylhexyl)phthalate occur in sediments of Terminal No. 2 in concentrations as large as 1,965 and 2,200 micrograms/ kilogram, respectively. Of the trace metals examined in both standard and oxic elutriate-test filtrate, only copper concentration in an oxic elutriate-test filtrate exceeded the water quality criteria. 34 refs., 8 figs., 12 tabs.

• OSTI ID: 6898398
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540320* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
AROMATICS
CADMIUM
CARBOXYLIC ACID SALTS
CHLORINATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
CONTAMINATION
COPPER
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ELEMENTS
FEDERAL REGION X
HALOGENATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
LEAD
METALS
MONITORING
NORTH AMERICA
OREGON
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
PESTICIDES
PHTHALATES
POLLUTION
RIVERS
SEDIMENTS
STREAMS
SURFACE WATERS
TRACE AMOUNTS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
USA
WATER POLLUTION
ZINC