Fingerprinting 2,3,7,8‐tetrachlorodibenzodioxin contamination within the lower Passaic River

Abstract

The lower Passaic River is an operable unit of the Diamond Alkali Superfund site at 80 and 120 Lister Avenue in Newark, New Jersey, USA. Between 1948 and 1969, the Diamond Shamrock Chemicals Company and its predecessors manufactured chemicals such as pesticides and phenoxy herbicides, including 2,4,5-trichlorophenol, which is a precursor to 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid, one of the primary components used to make the military defoliant Agent Orange. A by-product of this manufacturing process was 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD), and the site is considered the dominant source of 2,3,7,8-TCDD to the lower Passaic River and its environs. Several investigators have identified the ratio of 2,3,7,8-TCDD to total TCDD as a fingerprint for the site source. The present study presents data that establish polychlorinated dibenzodioxin/polychlorinated dibenzofuran (collectively, PCDD/F) congener and homolog fingerprints of soil and sump samples from the site. It then compares those fingerprints to the PCDD/F congener and homolog patterns in lower Passaic River sediments. The similarity of the patterns in lower Passaic River sediments to the site fingerprint indicates the site is the dominant source of the 2,3,7,8-TCDD in sediments within approximately the lower 14 miles of the lower Passaic River, excluding, for the purposes of the present discussion, Newark Bay. In addition, PCDD/F congener data indicate that the ratio of 1,3,7,8-TCDD to 2,3,7,8-TCDD is another marker of the site and corroborates the findings from the other fingerprints. Environ Toxicol Chem 2015;34:1485–1498. © 2015 The Authors. Published by SETAC.

Changing sources of polychlorinated dibenzo‐p‐dioxins and furans in sediments and ecological risk for nekton in the lower Passaic River and Newark Bay, New Jersey, USA

“…However, the high contribution from 2,3,7,8‐TCDD indicates the signature of historical contamination from the Diamond Alkali plant, which was located at approximately RKM 5 (Figure ) . Accordingly, the historical contamination from the Diamond Alkali plant is still the main source of 2,3,7,8‐TCDD (94%) in the region, similar to the conclusion reached by Quadrini et al .…”

“…The pattern observed for 2,3,7,8‐TCDD is as described earlier : sediments at the Superfund site are still the major source of 2,3,7,8‐TCDD to the river and Newark Bay. Although this contamination happened decades ago (i.e., an aged source), it is still reflected in the river not only at the site of the former Diamond Alkali plant, but also as 2,3,7,8‐TCDD spread upriver until approximately RKM 12.8 and downriver toward Newark Bay.…”

“…Relative abundance of PCDD/F congeners in sediments of the present study were compared with those observed in sediments collected by the Contamination Assessment and Reduction Project (Supplemental Data, Figure S2) and those presented in the recent study by Quadrini et al (Supplemental Data, Figure S3). As shown in Figure S2, good agreement is observed between the profiles in the 2 studies, with the more highly chlorinated PCDD/F congeners dominating the sedimentary profiles (see Supplemental Data for more details).…”

“…Concentrations of tetrachlorinated through octachlorinated dioxins and furans in the present study were lower than concentrations previously detected in sediments from Lake Shinji, Japan (8600 pg/g dry wt [15]) the Housatonic River, Massachusetts, USA (160-82 000 pg/g dry wt [39]), rivers in the United Kingdom (450-9300 pg/g dry wt [40]), Tokyo Bay, Japan (3150-20 000 pg/g dry wt [41]), Venice Lagoon, Italy (65-140 000 [42]), Willamette Basin, Oregon, USA (100-50 000 pg/g dry wt [18]), the Baltic Sea (<250-210 000 pg/g dry wt [43]), and previously detected PCDD/Fs concentrations in sediments of the Passaic River and Newark Bay in 1990 (330-19 200 pg/g dry wt [23]), 1991 to 1993 (140-211 000 pg/g dry wt [22]), 2006 (1.3-56 000 pg/g dry wt [44]) and in sediment cores collected from the Superfund site and Newark Bay [6]. Concentrations of 2,3,7,8-TCDD detected at the area surrounding the Superfund site (70-220 pg/g dry wt) were lower than concentrations detected in the uppermost intervals of high-resolution cores collected in 2011 (418-776 pg/g dry wt) [45]. In contrast, detected PCDD/F concentrations in the present study were higher than concentrations observed in the Hyeongsan River, Korea (4.8-1600 pg/g dry wt [46]) and in the Detroit and Rouge Rivers, Michigan, USA (70-1400 pg/g dry wt).…”

A Dramatic Difference in Global Gene Expression between TCDD-Treated Atlantic Tomcod Larvae from the Resistant Hudson River and a Nearby Sensitive Population

“…Sediment levels of PCDD/Fs, notably the most toxic congener, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo- p -dioxin (TCDD), are at world record levels in the western Hudson River estuary as a consequence of the operation of an herbicide production facility on the banks of the Passaic River, a tributary of this system. Contamination with TCDD has included downstream waters in Newark Bay and the nearby Hackensack River which has resulted in the designation or proposed designation of these waterways as additional U.S. federal Superfund sites ( Quadrini etal. 2015 ).…”