Defining the sources of airborne polychlorinated biphenyls: evidence for the influence of microbially dechlorinated congeners from river sediment?

2000 ◽  
Vol 57 (S1) ◽  
pp. 86-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff Chiarenzelli ◽  
Brian Bush ◽  
Ann Casey ◽  
Ed Barnard ◽  
Bob Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
River Sediment ◽  
Polychlorinated Biphenyl ◽  
Specific Pattern ◽  
Great Lakes Region ◽  
Superfund Sites ◽  
Aroclor 1248 ◽  
Time Period ◽  
A Minor ◽  
St Lawrence River

Sampling on Akwesasne Mohawk Nation lands during 1993 yielded elevated polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations comparable with those of other areas impacted by the discharge of PCBs. The summer air PCB congener- specific pattern in proximity to three Superfund sites along the St. Lawrence River suggests that the volatilization of Aroclor 1248, used extensively at all three downwind sites, is the dominant source. A dechlorinated source, presumably from river sediment and waters, is a minor contributor (~12%) to the pattern. These two sources can account for ~80% of the observed pattern. At a small cove adjacent to an industrial landfill, summer concentrations exceeded those measured in the winter by a factor of 27. At all sample sites during the summer months (June-August), concentrations and chlorine to biphenyl ratios increased, and similar congener-specific PCB patterns were observed. During the colder months, PCB concentrations at all sites decreased but were elevated with respect to those measured elsewhere in the Great Lakes region during the same time period.

scholarly journals Lake-to-Lake Cloud Bands: Frequencies and Locations

2007 ◽  
Vol 135 (12) ◽  
pp. 4202-4213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yarice Rodriguez ◽  
David A. R. Kristovich ◽  
Mark R. Hjelmfelt
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
Lake Superior ◽  
Great Lakes Region ◽  
Lake Effect ◽  
Time Period ◽  
High Resolution Satellite Imagery

Abstract Premodification of the atmosphere by upwind lakes is known to influence lake-effect snowstorm intensity and locations over downwind lakes. This study highlights perhaps the most visible manifestation of the link between convection over two or more of the Great Lakes lake-to-lake (L2L) cloud bands. Emphasis is placed on L2L cloud bands observed in high-resolution satellite imagery on 2 December 2003. These L2L cloud bands developed over Lake Superior and were modified as they passed over Lakes Michigan and Erie and intervening land areas. This event is put into a longer-term context through documentation of the frequency with which lake-effect and, particularly, L2L cloud bands occurred over a 5-yr time period over different areas of the Great Lakes region.

Polychlorinated biphenyl emissions to the atmosphere in the Great Lakes region. Municipal landfills and incinerators

1985 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 942-946 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Murphy ◽  
Leo J. Formanski ◽  
Bruce. Brownawell ◽  
Joseph A. Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Polychlorinated Biphenyl ◽  
Great Lakes Region

Distribution of Organochlorine Pesticides and PCBs between Aqueous and Suspended Sediment Phases in the Lower Great Lakes Region

1985 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert C. McCrea ◽  
John D. Fischer ◽  
Kenneth W. Kuntz
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
Organochlorine Pesticides ◽  
Aqueous Phase ◽  
Pesticide Residues ◽  
Great Lakes Region ◽  
Niagara River ◽  
Organochlorine Contaminants ◽  
Sediment Fraction ◽  
St Lawrence River

Abstract Suspended sediment and extracts of the aqueous phase were collected in 1981 at eleven locations in the Lower Great Lakes Region and analyzed for 17 organochlorine pesticide residues and PCB's. Mirex, and p,p'-DDE when found were predominantly in the suspended sediment fraction, whereas α-BHC, γ-BHC, dieldrin, endrin, p,p'-TDE and trans-chlordane were most abundant in the aqueous phase. Several pesticide residues, notably cis-chlordane, p,p'-DDT and p,p'-methoxychlor were found to have variable distribution characteristics between the suspended sediment and aqueous phases. The greater proportion of organochlorine pesticides present in Lake Erie and the Niagara River were found in the aqueous phase samples, which contained at least 90% of the total pesticide concentration at 5 of the 6 stations sampled. Virtually all of the organochlorine contaminants present in Lake Ontario were found in the aqueous phase, which contained 100% of the pesticides and 91% of total PCB's. Similar results were obtained for the St Lawrence River.

Biotransformation of polychlorinated biphenyls in St. Lawrence River sediments: reductive dechlorination and dechlorinating microbial populations

2000 ◽  
Vol 57 (S1) ◽  
pp. 95-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y -C Cho ◽  
J Kim ◽  
R C Sokol ◽  
G -Y Rhee
Keyword(s):  
Reductive Dechlorination ◽  
Polychlorinated Biphenyl ◽  
River Sediments ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Microbial Populations ◽  
Most Probable Number ◽  
Probable Number ◽  
Aroclor 1248 ◽  
Two Populations ◽  
St Lawrence River

Polychlorinated biphenyl dechlorinating microbial populations in St. Lawrence River sediments were fractionated and estimated based on the dechlorination pattern using a combination of serial dilution and most probable number techniques. Two distinctive dechlorination patterns were found in most probable number sediments spiked with Aroclor 1248. A high-dilution inoculum decreased the average number of chlorines per biphenyl from 4.0 to 3.4 but was unable to dechlorinate meta-substituted congeners consisting mainly of 2,5,2',5'-, 2,4,2',5'-, and 2,5,2'-chlorobiphenyl (pattern B). On the other hand, a low-dilution inoculum did dechlorinate the meta-rich congeners and reduced the average number of chlorines to 2.9 (pattern A). These results indicate that there are at least two populations. While pattern B was produced by pattern B producing dechlorinators, pattern A was produced by a combination of pattern B producers plus another population that dechlorinates the meta-substituted congeners. When the population size was calculated based on the frequency of respective dechlorination patterns, the populations yielding pattern B were approximately 2.4 × 106cells·g dry weight sediment-1whereas the dechlorinators of the meta-rich congeners were two orders of magnitude less at 3.5 × 104cells·g dry weight sediment-1. Despite lower numbers, these meta-dechlorinators in pattern A increased the overall dechlorination by almost twofold.

Changes in Thyroid Hormone Economy Following Consumption of Environmentally Contaminated Great Lakes Fish

1998 ◽  
Vol 14 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 41-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
John F. Leatherland
Keyword(s):  
Thyroid Hormone ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
Polychlorinated Biphenyl ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Great Lakes Region ◽  
Fish Diets ◽  
Exposure Levels ◽  
Rats And Mice ◽  
Thyroid Lesions

Epizootics of thyroid lesions in fish and piscivorous birds that are resident in the Great Lakes region of North America suggest that there are environmental factors present in the Great Lakes ecosystem that act as potent endocrine disruptors, and that they are transferred along the food chain. This paper examines the results of wildlife studies, as well as related studies onfish-eating human populations in the region. It also re-examines the results of experimental studies of the effects of Great Lakes fish diets on the thyroid physiology of rodents and shows that the thyroid responses of fish-fed rats and mice were essentially similar to those found in rats that had been administered specific polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbon (PHAH) congeners or commercial polychlorinated biphenyl mixtures. However, the responses to the Great Lakes fish diets were found at PHAH exposure levels that were commonly several orders of magnitude lower than those applied in the classical toxicology studies. These findings, together with the results of the Great Lakes piscivorous bird studies and one in which captive common seals were fed "environmentally contaminated" fish, suggest that the "environmental" PHAH mixtures accumulated in fish represent a significant threat to the thyroid hormone economy, and the effects are greater than could be predicted by virtue of the known levels of active congeners in this naturally bioaccumulated PHAH mix.

Zebra Mussels as Biomonitors for Organic Contaminants in the Lower Great Lakes

1996 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 411-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Comba ◽  
Janice L. Metcalfe-Smith ◽  
Klaus L.E. Kaiser
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Organic Contaminants ◽  
Lake Erie ◽  
Soft Tissues ◽  
Lake Ontario ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Zebra Mussels ◽  
Organic Contamination ◽  
Contamination Levels ◽  
St Lawrence River

Abstract Zebra mussels were collected from 24 sites in Lake Erie, Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River between 1990 and 1992. Composite samples of whole mussels (15 sites) or soft tissues (9 sites) were analyzed for residues of organochlo-rine pesticides and PCBs to evaluate zebra mussels as biomonitors for organic contaminants. Mussels from most sites contained measurable quantities of most of the analytes. Mean concentrations were (in ng/g, whole mussel dry weight basis) 154 ΣPCB, 8.4 ΣDDT, 3.5 Σchlordane, 3.4 Σaldrin, 1.4 ΣBHC, 1.0 Σendosulfan, 0.80 mirex and 0.40 Σchlorobenzene. Concentrations varied greatly between sites, i.e., from 22 to 497 ng/g for ΣPCB and from 0.08 to 11.6 ng/g for ΣBHC, an indication that mussels are sensitive to different levels of contamination. Levels of ΣPCB and Σendosulfan were highest in mussels from the St. Lawrence River, whereas mirex was highest in those from Lake Ontario. Overall, mussels from Lake Erie were the least contaminated. These observations agree well with the spatial contaminant trends shown by other biomoni-toring programs. PCB congener class profiles in zebra mussels are also typical for nearby industrial sources, e.g., mussels below an aluminum casting plant contained 55% di-, tri- and tetrachlorobiphenyls versus 31% in those upstream. We propose the use of zebra mussels as biomonitors of organic contamination in the Great Lakes.

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