A MULTIRESIDUE APPROACH FOR TRACE ORGANIC POLLUTANTS - APPLICATION TOEFFLUENTS AND ASSOCIATED AQUATIC SEDIMENTS AND BIOTA FROM THE SOUTHERN CHESAPEAKE BAY DRAINAGE-BASIN 1985-1992
Rc. Hale et Cl. Smith, A MULTIRESIDUE APPROACH FOR TRACE ORGANIC POLLUTANTS - APPLICATION TOEFFLUENTS AND ASSOCIATED AQUATIC SEDIMENTS AND BIOTA FROM THE SOUTHERN CHESAPEAKE BAY DRAINAGE-BASIN 1985-1992, International journal of environmental analytical chemistry, 64(1), 1996, pp. 21-33
Most chemical monitoring approaches target a small subset of the pollu
tants actually present in environmental samples. As a consequence, sig
nificant information is routinely overlooked. A program was developed
and applied in the southern Chesapeake Bay drainage basin to obtain a
more complete picture of the diverse organic contaminants present. Fac
ilities examined included military, water treatment, creosote and fuel
handling, shipyard and papermill installations. Matrices analyzed wer
e aqueous discharges, to assess current releases; sediments, for a mor
e synoptic view; and shellfish, to examine bioavailability and bioaccu
mulation. Tools used included capillary gas chromatography, electron i
mpact and negative chemical ionization mass spectrometry, retention in
dices, flame ionization and halogen specific detectors. The approach s
uccessfully identified a number of sites in the bay drainage impacted
by high concentrations of the so-called ''priority'' pollutants, such
as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PCBs and chlorinated pesticides.
In addition, numerous ''non-priority'' pollutants (e.g. polychlorinate
d terphenyls, nitrogen and sulfur heterocyclics, phenolics, ketones an
d ethers) were identified as major contaminants.