Release of Polychlorinated Biphenyls from River Sediment to Water under Low-Flow Conditions: Laboratory Assessment
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 130, Issue 2
Abstract
The diffusive release of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from sediments to water under low-flow conditions was measured for surficial sediments with different PCB concentrations collected from the Grasse River near Massena, N.Y. Data on PCB sediment-water equilibrium partitioning and PCB mass release flux from sediments were used to assess the extent and mass transfer rate of PCB release under low-flow conditions in the Grasse River. Microcosm studies were employed to evaluate the release flux of PCBs under quiescent conditions for various river sediments and sediment mixtures. The observed total-PCB release fluxes ranged from about 1 to 20 mg/m2⋅year, showing predominantly dichloro- through tetrachlorobiphenyls. Analyses of water column samples from the Grasse River under low-flow conditions also indicated the predominance of dichloro- through tetrachlorobiphenyls as in the microcosm tests. Data on PCB equilibrium partitioning between water and sediment were used to estimate sediment porewater concentrations, and these data combined with the microcosm flux data were used to estimate average, aqueous-boundary-layer total-PCB mass transfer coefficients of 0.3–1.5 cm/day. These values are consistent with estimates of mass transfer coefficients based on aqueous-boundary-layer correlations, and with PCB mass transfer coefficients inferred from the field data for low-flow conditions in the fall and winter (approximately 2 cm/day). The correspondence of the laboratory results with the field measurements and mass transfer rates demonstrates the usefulness of the microcosm technique for estimating fluxes of PCBs from river sediments under low-flow minimum bioturbation conditions.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Adeel, Z., Luthy, R. G., Dzombak, D. A., Roy, S. B., and Smith, J. R.(1997). “Leaching of PCB compounds from untreated and biotreated sludge-soil mixtures.” J. Contam. Hydrol., 28, 289–309.
Alcoa. (1995). “Bioremediation tests for Massena Lagoon sludges/sediments. Volume 1.” Rep. prepared for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region II and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Alcoa Remediation Projects Organization, Massena, N.Y.
Alcoa. (2001). “Comprehensive characterization of the Lower Grasse River. Volumes I and II.” Rep. prepared for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region II and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Alcoa, Massena, N.Y.
Bremle, G., and Larsson, P.(1997). “Long-term variations of PCB in the water of a river in relation to precipitation and internal sources.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 31, 3232–3237.
Connolly, J. P.(1991). “Application of a food chain model to polychlorinated biphenyl contamination of the lobster and winter flounder food chains in New Bedford Harbor.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 25, 760–770.
Connolly, J. P., Zahakos, H. A., Benaman, J., Ziegler, C. K., Rhea, J. R., and Russell, K.(2000). “A model of PCB fate in the Upper Hudson River.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 34, 4076–4087.
Cussler, E. L. (1997). Diffusion: Mass transfer in fluid systems, 2nd Ed., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, 237–240.
EPA. (1997). “Phase 2 report: Further site characterization and analysis, Hudson River PCBs reassessment RI/FS. Volume 2C. Data evaluation and interpretation report.” Rep. prepared for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region II and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Kansas City District, TAMS Consultants, The Cadmus Group, and Gradient Corporation, New York.
EPA. (2000a). “Phase 2 report: Further site characterization and analysis, Hudson River PCBs Reassessment RI/FS. Volume 2D. Revised baseline modeling report.” Rep. prepared for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region II and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Kansas City District, TAMS Consultants, Limno-Tech, Menzie-Cura & Associates, and Tetra Tech, New York.
EPA. (2000b). “Phase 2 report: Further site characterization and analysis, Hudson River PCBs Reassessment RI/FS. Volume 2E. Revised baseline risk assessment.” Rep. prepared for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region II and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Kansas City District, TAMS Consultants and Menzie-Cura & Associates, New York.
Formica, S. J., Baron, J. A., Thibodeaux, L. J., and Valsaraj, K. T.(1988). “PCB transport into lake sediments. Conceptual model and laboratory simulation.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 22, 135–1440.
Froese, K. L., Verbrugge, D. A., Snyder, S. A., Tilton, F., Tuchman, M., Ostaszewski, A., and Giesy, J. P.(1997). “PCBs in the Detroit River water column.” J. Great Lakes Res., 23, 440–449.
Ghosh, U., Weber, A. S., Jensen, J. N., and Smith, J. R.(2000). “Relationship between PCB desorption equilibrium, kinetics, and availability during land biotreatment.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 34, 2542–2548.
Gobas, F. A. P. C.(1993). “A model for predicting the bioaccumulation of hydrophobic organic chemicals in aquatic food webs: Application to Lake Ontario.” Ecol. Modell., 69, 1–17.
Halter, M. T., and Johnson, H. E. (1977). “A model system to study the desorption and biological availability of PCB in hydrosoils.” Aquatic toxicology and hazard evaluation, ASTM STP 634, West Conshohocken, Pa., 178–195.
Jackman, A. P., Kennedy, V. C., and Bhatia, N.(2001). “Interparticle migration of metal cations in stream sediments as a factor in toxics transport.” J. Haz. Mat., 82(1), 27–41.
Karickhoff, S. W., Brown, D. S., and Scott, T. A.(1979). “Sorption of hydrophobic pollutants on natural sediments.” Water Res., 13, 241–248.
Luthy, R. G., Dzombak, D. A., Peters, C. A., Roy, S. B., Ramaswami, A., Nakles, D. V., and Nott, B. R.(1994). “Remediating tar-contaminated soils at manufactured gas plant sites.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 28, 266A–276A.
Luthy, R. G., Dzombak, D. A., Shannon, M. J. R., Unterman, R., and Smith, J. R.(1997). “Dissolution of PCB congeners from an Aroclor and an Aroclor/hydraulic oil mixture.” Water Res., 31, 561–573.
Mackay, D., and Hughes, A.(1984). “Three-parameter equation describing the uptake of organic compounds by fish.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 18, 439–444.
Mackay, D., Shiu, W. Y., and Ma, K. C. (1992). Illustrated handbook of physical-chemical properties and environmental fate of organic chemicals, Vol. 1, Lewis, Chelsea, Mich.
National Research Council. (2001). “A risk-management strategy for PCB-contaminated sediments.” Washington, D.C.
Oliver, B. G.(1985). “Desorption of chlorinated hydrocarbons from spiked and anthropogenically contaminated sediments.” Chemosphere, 14, 1087–1106.
Ortiz, E. (1998). “Evaluation of physical/chemical mechanisms controlling PCB release from river sediments.” PhD thesis, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Roy, S. B., and Dzombak, D. A.(1997). “Chemical factors influencing colloid-facilitated transport of contaminants in porous media.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 31, 656–664.
Schwarzenbach, R. P., Gschwend, P. M., and Imboden, D. M. (1993). Environmental organic chemistry, Wiley-Interscience, New York.
Shiu, W. Y., and Mackay, D.(1986). “A critical review of aqueous solubilities, vapor pressures, Henry’s Law constants, and octanol–water partition coefficients of the polychlorinated biphenyls.” J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data, 15, 911–989.
Thibodeaux, L. J. (1996). Environmental chemodynamics, 2nd Ed., Wiley-Interscience, New York.
Thibodeaux, L. J., Valsaraj, K. T., and Reible, D. D.(2001). “Bioturbation-driven transport of hydrophobic organic contaminants from bed sediment.” Environ. Eng. Sci., 18(4), 215–223.
Thomann, R. V., and Connolly, J. P.(1984). “Model of PCB in Lake Michigan lake trout food chain.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 18, 65–71.
Valsaraj, K. T., Thibodeaux, L. J., and Reible, D. D.(1997). “A quasi-steady-state pollutant flux methodology for determining sediment quality criteria.” Envir. Toxicol. Chem., 16, 391–396.
Wang, X. Q., Thibodeaux, L. J., Valsaraj, K. T., and Reible, D. D.(1991). “Efficiency of capping contaminated sediments in situ. 1. Laboratory-scale experiments on diffusion-adsorption in the capping layer.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 25, 1578–1584.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 5, 2002
Accepted: Feb 21, 2003
Published online: Jan 16, 2004
Published in print: Feb 2004
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.