New Bedford Harbor

Results. Various solvent mixtures were tested for extraction efficiency. The test sample was a bone-dry sediment reference material containing 24.6 ppm of Arochlor 1242. This reference material is a real sediment from New Bedford Harbor which was homogenized and carefully assayed for PCB s by the Cincinnati EPA facility. Figure 3 shows recovery of 1242 using (1) hexane alone, (2) hexane and water (1 1), (3) hexane, water, and ethyl ether, (4) ethyl ether and water, (5) ethyl ether, water, and methanol, (6) methanol and hexane (1 1), and (7) water, methanol, and hexane (1 4 5). This last combination appears to give the best recovery. When added in this order to a dry sample, the effect of the water is to wet the sample, thus permitting extraction by methanol. The extracted PCB is partitioned almost exclusively into the hexane from the aqueous methanol. Final recovery is calculated from initial weight and hexane volume. 

New Bedford Harbor area, an EPA-designated Superfund Site... 

Massachusetts total PCBs Boston Harbor and Buzzards Bay 1984-89 New Bedford Harbor 1986 Salem Harbor 1984-89 Nebraska waterfowl production areas ... 

New Bedford Harbor, Massachusetts vs. two control sites in Rhode Island spring, 1988 liver Planar PCBs ... 

In humans, total PCB concentrations in maternal milk were elevated (>1.1 mg/kg milk fat) in 4 of 122 cases in the New Bedford Harbor vicinity, Massachusetts (Korrick and Altshul 1998). At least one female was occupationally exposed, as judged by the congener profile and history. PCB exposures from fish consumption were likely, but not from residence adjacent to a PCB-contami-nated site. In all four cases, their newborns were full-term and healthy (Korrick and Altshul 1998). 

Maternal milk New Bedford Harbor and environs 1993 milk fat basis Total PCBs ... 

Adults collected from 4 sites in PCB-contaminated New Bedford Harbor, Massachusetts, in 1993, during their natural spawning season. Transported to laboratory and bred... 

Bergen, B.J., W.G. Nelson, and R.J. Pruell. 1993. Bioaccumulation of PCB congeners by blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) deployed in New Bedford Harbor, Massachusetts. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 12 1671-1681. 

Black, D.E., R. Gutjahr-Gobell, R.J. Pruell, B. Bergen, L. Mills, and A.E. McElroy. 1998b. Reproduction and polychlorinated biphenyls in Fundulus heteroclitus (Linneaus) from New Bedford Harbor, Massachusetts, USA. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 17 1405-1414. 

Lake, J.L., R. McKinney, C.A. Lake, F.A. Osterman, and J. Heltshe. 1995b. Comparisons of patterns of polychlorinated biphenyl congeners in water, sediment, and indigenous organisms from New Bedford Harbor, Massachusetts. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 29 207-220. 

The salient features of the GC-MS data for the neutral extract components separated from PCB contaminated sediment in New Bedford harbor, Massachusetts are given in Fig. 16. The TIC trace indicates a major UCM with super-... 

Reductive dechlorination of PCBs is important because it reduces their potential toxicity and persistence. In situ dechlorination of PCBs attributed to microorganisms in the anaerobic sediments has been documented in the Hudson River, Silver Lake (MA), the St. Lawrence River (NY), and New Bedford Harbor (MA) [76,371,451,454-456]. 

Hofelt, C.S. and Shea, D. 1997, Accumulation of oiganochlorine pesticides and RGBs by semipermeable membrane devices and Mvtilus edulis in New Bedford Harbor. Environ. Sci. Technol. 31 154—159. 

During bench-scale studies on ACT using sediments from the New Bedford Harbor Superfund Site, the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) concentrations of many contaminants increased or remained unchanged following treatment. Based on these results, researchers stated that solidification/stabilization methods such as ACT were not appropriate for the treatment of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) or semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) at the site. The study also indicated that the compressive strength of ACT [45 to 80 pounds per square inch (psi)] was relatively low compared to other solidification/stabilization materials that were tested. 

Organic extraction using solvents at New Bedford Harbor, MA (Cheremisinoff, 1989) PCBs (sediments) CF Systems Corporation, Arvada, CO... 

A New Bedford Harbor Sawyer Street site in Massachusetts has been designated as a superfund site due to PCB contamination of river sediments. Commodore was one of three companies chosen to conduct demonstration studies on-site under contract to Foster Wheeler Environmental Company. The river sediment was first washed with diisopropylamine by the Ionics RCC B.E.S.T process [35], producing an oil concentrate. The PCB level in the B.E.S.T concentrate was approximately 32,800 ppm. Dioxins/furans (TEFs) were also present at 47 ppm. This concentrate was reacted with SET in the SoLV process to destroy the PCBs and dioxins (Table 4). After treatment, the PCB level was 1.3 ppm, well below regulatory requirements for disposal in nonhazardous waste landfills. Dioxins were also readily remediated. This study also illustrates that the SoLV process can remove metals from substrates. The concentrate received was found to have lead, arsenic, and selenium in high parts-per-billion levels. After treatment with the SoLV process, the levels were below detection limits. The metals were... 

Table 4 SET Treatment of PCB-and Dioxin-Contaminated Sludge from New Bedford Harbor...

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