PT03 Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
Exhibit Hall
8:00 AM - Tuesday
(PT010) Spatial Distribution of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in the Delaware River Basin.
Gneiding, L1, Harman, C1, Samuelian, J2, 1 AMEC Earth & Environmental, Inc., Somerset, NJ, USA2 AMEC Earth & Environmental, Inc., Portland, ME, USA
ABSTRACT- The Delaware River Basin encompasses the main stem Delaware River and many major tributaries (e.g., Crosswicks Creek, Schuylkill River) and borders five states (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland). The Basin is divided into three salinity zones: an upper, tidal freshwater zone, a transition zone and a lower, high salinity zone. A strong tidal influence affects the Delaware River such that the entire Basin flushes within 90 days. The Delaware River Basin also has the greatest concentration of industry per square mile in the world with 153 municipal and 181 industrial point sources of pollution. Given this concentration of industry and tides, one of the most persistent pollutants, PCBs is ubiquitous throughout the Basin. Using available data, the spatial distribution and patterns of PCB congeners and homologues detected in surface water and sediments for the Delaware River and select tributaries will be summarized and evaluated.
Key words: Delaware River, PCBs, congeners/homologs