The distribution of micro-organic contaminants in river bed-sediment cores

Citation
Wm. Daniels et al., The distribution of micro-organic contaminants in river bed-sediment cores, SCI TOTAL E, 253(1-3), 2000, pp. 81-92
Citations number
39
Categorie Soggetti
Environment/Ecology
Journal title
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
ISSN journal
00489697 → ACNP
Volume
253
Issue
1-3
Year of publication
2000
Pages
81 - 92
Database
ISI
SICI code
0048-9697(20000515)253:1-3<81:TDOMCI>2.0.ZU;2-N
Abstract
There is little information available on the distributions of micro-organic contaminants in river bed-sediments below a depth of 5 cm. The aim of this study is to determine the concentrations and distributions of contaminants in river bed-sediments up to 1 m depth and to make an assessment of the re sults. The approach taken was to collect five cores from each of two lowlan d rivers in southern England, the first a rural river and the second a domi nantly urban catchment. The cores were analysed for micro-organic compounds and sediment/sediment porewater characteristics. Compounds detected were p olyaromatic hydrocarbons (naphthalene, fluoranthene and pyrene), pesticides (carbaryl, linuron, fenpropimorph, the synthetic pyrethroids, and prometry n), and non-ionic surfactant residue (nonylphenol). A particularly importan t finding was that some micro-organic contaminants penetrated to depths of 1 m, and in one of the rivers they were detected in undisturbed Eocene subs trata. The more hydrophobic contaminants showed a clear depth distribution with higher concentrations towards the top of the cores. The less hydrophob ic contaminants demonstrated no systematic trend suggesting they had become soluble in porewaters and subsequently travelled within the cores. Partiti on between the porewater and sediment appeared to be controlling the distri bution of the compounds with depth. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All righ ts reserved.