Extractable Organohalogens (EOX) in Sediment and Biota Collected at an Estuarine Marsh near a Former Chloralkali Facility

Abstract

Extractable, organically bound chlorine (EOCl), which is determined by neutron activation analysis (NAA), has been used as a measure of pollution by chlorinated organics. In this study, the concentrations and distribution of extractable organohalogens (EOX = EOCl + EOBr + EOI) were measured in sediment, blue crab, fishes, birds, and terrapin collected at an estuarine marsh and a nearby creek contaminated by the disposal of wastes from a former chlor-alkali facility. The concentrations of the organohalogens were in the order of EOCl ≫ EOBr > EOI. The sediment EOCl concentration was comparable to those reported for sediments at sites that have been contaminated by the disposal of bleached kraft pulp mill effluents. The concentrations of EOCl measured in the tissues of blue crab, fishes, and birds were higher than any values previously reported. The absolute concentrations of EOCl coupled with its elevated proportions relative to the concentrations of EOBr or EOI in biota suggest that wastes from the chloralkali processes are a potential source of chlorinated organics present in the environment. The relative proportion of known [such as, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dibenzo-p-dioxins/dibenzofurans (PCDDs/PCDFs), polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs), and organochlorine pesticides] to unknown organochlorines in sediment, blue crab, fishes, birds, and terrapin was, on average, 48, 35, 5−25, 1−14, and 4.2%, respectively, which suggested that a major portion of the EOCl measured in biota remained uncharacterized. By assuming that the identities of unknown organochlorines in sediment and biota were similar, the estimated biota−sediment accumulation factor (BSAF) for the unknown EOCl fraction suggested that the components of this fraction have a tendency to bioaccumulate in the food chain.

Clapper rails as indicators of mercury and PCB bioavailability in a Georgia saltmarsh system

“…Since clapper rails for this study were also used in a human health risk study for those who may consume these birds, PCBs were not adjusted for lipid content. However, clapper rails collected from our study area have been documented to have a wet weight fat content of 2.5% for muscle and 4.1% for liver (Kannan et al 1999).…”

“…Laboratory studies on fish (Fundulus heteroclitus) from the estuary have suggested that both contaminants have direct and transgenerational effects (Baker Matta et al 2001). Numerous studies have described the distribution and characterization of both Hg and Aroclor 1268 in sediments and soil from this system, as well as report contaminant concentrations from biota opportunistically collected from the estuary (Kannan et al 1997(Kannan et al , 1998a(Kannan et al , 1999Maruya and Lee 1998). However, no study to date has characterized the contaminant burden of a population residing at known spatial locations within LCP and the contaminant loads of their offspring.…”

Feathers as bioindicators of PCB exposure in clapper rails

“…This is also evident when previous studies documenting the congener profiles and total contaminant loads of Aroclor 1268 in sediments and the biota from this estuary are compared (Kannan et al 1997(Kannan et al , 1998(Kannan et al , 1999Cumbee et al 2008). Moreover, given that the purpose of this study is to use the Aroclor 1268 congener mixture as a marker, any temporal diminishment of this PCB mixture due to weathering or natural attenuation does not confound the study.…”

“…Previous studies from LCP have indicated that this is the only Aroclor mixture found in elevated levels (Kannan et al 1997(Kannan et al , 1998(Kannan et al , 1999Cumbee et al 2008). Therefore, hereafter, these primary congeners of the Aroclor 1268 mixture will be collectively referred to as the Aroclor 1268 mixture.…”

EOX concentrations in sediment in the part of the Bothnian Bay affected by effluents from the pulp and paper mills at Kemi, Northern Finland

“…These substances are often present in relatively high concentrations in sediments, which facilitates their chemical analysis. Bottom sediments are therefore widely used in aquatic environments as indicators for assessing the levels and distribution pattern of organochlorine compounds discharged from pulp mills (Svanberg and Bengtsson 1996), as well as from chloralkali facilities (Kannan et al 1999).…”