Journal article
Record of PCB congeners, sorbents and potential toxicity in core samples in Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal
Chemosphere, Vol.85(3), pp.542-547
10/2011
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2011.08.018
PMCID: PMC3222236
PMID: 21899876
Abstract
► Sediment cores were collected from one of the largest direct tributary source of PCBs to Lake Michigan. ► PCBs (160 peaks including dioxin-like PCBs), black carbon, and TOC were measured. ► PCBs increase with depth with the highest correlating to years 1940 through 1990. ► The system exhibits an unusually strong Aroclor 1248 signal. Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal (IHSC) is an active navigational system that serves a heavily industrial area of southern Lake Michigan. We have determined the amount of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), congener distributions, sorbent types and potential for dioxin-like PCB toxicity from two IHSC sediment cores. Vertical distributions of ΣPCBs (sum of 161 individual or coeluting congeners) ranged from 410 to 91000 and 1800 to 41000ngg−1 dry weight (d.w.) for cores 1 and 2, respectively. Core 1 showed its highest accumulation rate for the year ∼1979 and exhibits a strong Aroclor 1248 signal in sediments accumulating over the last 60years. It appears that from the late 1930s until the beginning of the 1980s there was a large and constant input of PCBs into this system. This pattern differs from lake cores from the Great Lakes region which commonly exhibit a rapid increase, a peak, followed by a sharp decrease in the PCB accumulation rates. Core 2 also has a strong Aroclor 1248 signal in the top layers, but deeper layers show evidence of mixtures of Aroclors and/or weathering processes. High levels of black carbon as a fraction of total organic carbon were found in both cores (median ∼30%), which reflect the long history of local combustion sources. No strong relationship was found between ΣPCB concentration and sorbents. Both cores contain dioxin-like PCBs that are highest in concentration below the surface. The high levels of PCBs in the deep sediments are of concern because of plans to dredge this system.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Record of PCB congeners, sorbents and potential toxicity in core samples in Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal
- Creators
- Andres MartinezKeri C Hornbuckle
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Chemosphere, Vol.85(3), pp.542-547
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2011.08.018
- PMID
- 21899876
- PMCID
- PMC3222236
- NLM abbreviation
- Chemosphere
- ISSN
- 0045-6535
- eISSN
- 1879-1298
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ltd
- Grant note
- name: Iowa Superfund Basic Research Program, NIEHS, award: P42ES013661
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 10/2011
- Academic Unit
- Civil and Environmental Engineering; Occupational and Environmental Health; IIHR--Hydroscience and Engineering; Iowa Superfund Research Program
- Record Identifier
- 9983806399602771
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