Great Lakes, contaminated sediment

Zarull MA, Hartig JH, Maynard L (1999) Ecological benefits of contaminated sediment remediation in the Great Lakes basin. Sediment Priority Action Committee, Great Lakes Water Quality Board, International Joint Commission... 

Fish from Lake Erie are generally the least contaminated of all the Great Lakes IS), It has been speculated that contaminants in a more advanced eutrophic system become masked or removed by sedimentation within the food chain and have less opportunity to reach higher trophic levels 24), The management implications of this interaction between nutrient and contaminants needs to be further elucidated. 

PCBs have been implicated in the decline of certain populations of fish-eating birds, for example, in the Great Lakes of North America. Although their use is now banned in most countries and very little is released into the environment as a consequence of human activity, considerable quantities remain in sinks (e.g., contaminated sediments and landfill sites), from which they are slowly redistributed to other compartments of the environment. There continues to be evidence that PCB residues are still having environmental effects, for example, on birds and fish. 

Fabacher, D.L., J.M. Besser, C.J. Schmitt, J.C. Harshbarger, P.H. Peterman, and J.A. Lebo. 1991. Contaminated sediments from tributaries of the Great Lakes chemical characterization and carcinogenic effects in medaka (Oryzias latipes). Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 20 17-34. 

Allan RJ, Ball AJ. 1990. An overview of toxic contaminants in water and sediments of the Great Lakes Part I. Water Pollution Research Journal of Canada 25(4) 387-505. 

Durham RW, Oliver BG. 1983. History of Lake Ontario (Canada, USA) contamination from the Niagara river by sediment radiodating and chlorinated hydrocarbon analysis. Journal of Great Lakes Research 9(2) 160-168. 

Metcalfe, T.L. Metcalfe, C.D. Bennett, E.R. Haffner, G.D. 2000, Distribution of toxic organic contaminants in water and sediments in the Detroit River. J. Great Lakes Res. 26 55-64. 

Hexachlorobutadiene adsorbs to sediments in contaminated water. Sediments from the Niagara River were found to contain 2.9-11 ig/kg (Oliver and Charlton 1984). Sediments from the Great Lakes were reported to contains levels of hexachlorobutadiene typically ranging from 0.08 to 120 i g/kg (Fox et al. 1983 Oliver and Bourbonniere 1985 Oliver and Charlton 1984). Data regarding the levels of hexachlorobutadiene in soils were not located. Hexachlorobutadiene was not detectable in any of 196 sediment samples reported on the STORE database (Staples et al. 1985). The median detection limit was <500 ppb. 

Oliver BG, Bourbonniere RA. 1985. Chlorinated contaminants in surficial sediments of Lakes Huron, St. Clair and Erie implications regarding sources along the St. Clair and Detroit rivers. J Great Lakes Res 11 366-372. 

Moore JW, Sutherland DJ. 1981. Distribution of heavy metals and radionuclides in sediments, water, and fish in an area of Great Bear Lake contaminated with mine wastes. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 10 329-338. 

Fallon ME, Horvath FJ. 1985. Preliminary assessment of contaminants in soft sediments of the Detroit River. J Great Lakes Res 11 373-378. 

This book brings together what is known about the major classes of these persistent organic pollutants (the so-called POPs). Each chapter reviews our knowledge of the extent of contamination of the various parts of the Great Lakes ecosystem (air, water, sediment, fishes, birds, etc.), what is known about the trends over time of this contamination, and information about the mechanisms by which these compounds are mobilized in the lakes. The following section presents abstracts of the contents of each chapter. 

Diffusion of PCBs from highly contaminated surficial sediments in areas of concern may be an important net source to the Great Lakes. In fact, PCB diffusion from the porewaters of heavily contaminated coastal and riverine sediments may justify the removal of those sediments. Porewater diffusion in open lake sediments is not a major source. Diffusion of PCBs from porewater is governed by an effective diffusion or mass transfer coefficient and the... 

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