T1 PM Contaminant Cycling Assessment and Prevention in the NY/NJ Harbor (Part 2)
Tuesday, 15 November 2005: 1:50 PM - 5:30 PM in Ballroom 1

(WIL-1117-822908) The New Jersey Toxics Reduction Workplan for the NY-NJ Harbor: Distribution of Polychlorinated Biphenyls throughout the Harbor.

Wilson, T¹, Bonin, J¹, Dimou, N², Pecchioli, J³, ¹ US Geological Survey, West Trenton, NJ, USA² Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ, USA³ New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Trenton, NJ, USA

ABSTRACT- As part of the New Jersey Toxic Reduction Workplan for the NY-NJ Harbor, ambient water samples were collected at five head-of-tide (HOT) locations and fifteen locations along the tidal portions of the Hackensack, Passaic, Raritan, Rahway, and Elizabeth Rivers, and in Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, and the Kill van Kull. Trace Organic Platform Samplers were used to collect large volume (>50 L and >1 gram of sediment) samples of river water and suspended sediment during low-flow and storm discharge conditions. This talk discusses the dissolved and sediment-bound polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), the estimated PCB loads at the HOTs, the spatial and temporal distribution of PCBs from the HOTs through the harbor system, and the sediment-water partitioning of PCBs. Particular attention is focused on the Passaic River. Results of this work are summarized as follows. PCBs were present at measurable concentration in all samples of both phases at all sampling locations. Estimated average annul loads of total PCBs at the HOTs, in g/year, are: Passaic (5,600) > Raritan (4,200) > Elizabeth (670) > Rahway (370) > Hackensack (34). PCB concentrations were found to generally increase downstream from the HOTs into the tidal rivers and estuary. With a few exceptions, similar relative concentrations of PCB congeners were found at the HOTs and in the estuary, indicating similar sources exist throughout the study area. PCB toxicity, calculated using the co-planar PCB concentrations, was present at all sampling locations. The partitioning of PCBs between the sediment and water generally agreed with predictive octanol-water partitioning, but differences in partitioning were observed between the freshwater and estuarine environments that may be related to salinity or other factors.

Key words: New Jersey Rivers, PCB, Loads