Fate of PCB congeners in an industrial harbor of Lake Michigan.

ABSTRACT: We have quantified the release of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal (IHSC) to Lake Michigan and the atmosphere. Navigational dredging is planned for this system, and there is concern that dredging will result in releases of PCBs. We have analyzed greater than 158 PCBs in surficial sediment, water, suspended particles, and air. We predicted the release of PCBs from sediments to water and from water to air. To quantify the level of confidence in our calculations, we used a Monte Carlo simulation for each congener flux. We determined that 4 +/- 0.05 kg of summation operatorPCBs were released from the sediment to the water and 7 +/- 0.1 kg of summation operatorPCBs were volatilized from the water to the air annually. We measured input from the upstream regions

SUBMITTER: Martinez A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3257175 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature