Distribution and Characterization of Polychlorinated Biphenyl Congeners in Soil and Sediments from a Superfund Site Contaminated with Aroclor 1268
Received: August 20, 1996 Revised
January 10, 1997 Accepted January 15, 1997 Abstract: The use of Aroclor 1268 at a former chlor-alkali plant in
coastal Georgia (United States) has resulted in extensive
contamination of soils on-site and also of sediments in
the adjacent brackish marsh. The concentrations of
total
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in soil and marsh sedi
ments ranged between 9.6 and 567 Download the full text:
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and
g/g dry wt. A nearly
100-fold decline in total PCBs with distance away from the
site suggests a high attenuation of PCBs by the marsh
environment. Isomer-specific analysis of PCBs in
Aroclor
1268 and in soils and sediments from the site revealed
that
a comparable proportion of octa- and nonachlorobiphenyl
congeners, characteristic of the source, were present.
The distribution of PCBs in marsh sediments was similar
to
that in Aroclor 1268, which suggests a high degree of
stability of this PCB formulation in this environment.
The
estimated 2,3,7,8-TCDD equivalents of coplanar PCBs in
soil and sediments were between 1.6 and 28.6 ng/g dry wt
and also declined by 2 orders of magnitude along the
contamination gradient; the non-ortho congener, IUPAC
No.
126, contributed greater than 50% of the toxic
equivalents
in these samples.
