A history of octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzofuran, and 3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl contamination in Howe Sound, British Columbia

Abstract

9 Sielicki, M.; Focht, D. D.; Martin, J. P. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 1978, 35, 124-128. (8) Baggi, G.; Boga, M. M.; Catelani, D.; Galli, E.; Treccani, V. Syst. Appl. Microbiol. 1983, 4, 141-147. (9) Hartmans, S.; van der Werf, M. J.; de Bont, J. A. M. Appl.ii Six pulp mills using chlorine bleach discharge effluent into the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia. Fisheries were closed around the mills when dioxins and furans were measured in sediments and edible seafood. We report here the first measurements made for a dioxin (OCDD), a furan (2,3,7,8-TCDF), and a PCB (77) on three dated box cores collected from the region. OCDD is widely distributed, first appears in the sediments in -1940, reaches a maximum in 1970, and probably has an atmospheric source. In contrast, 2,3,7,8-TCDF is concentrated near pulp mills and has been accumulating in the sediments since -1965. PCB 77 correlates well with OCDD and is probably supplied from the atmosphere.

Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) Face Protracted Health Risks Associated with Lifetime Exposure to PCBs

“…Since no long-term POPs monitoring data exist for chinook or other fish species from the region we have estimated the history of PCB contamination in the diet for the northern and southern resident orcas back to 1930 using trends derived from sediment cores from coastal locations (Puget Sound (24), Georgia Basin (25), unpublished data) and several inland lakes (LRTAP lakes) which provide records of broad-scale atmospheric loadings (26,27). Concentrations of PCBs were normalized within each core by expressing them as a proportion of the concentration in the most recently deposited layer measured (range from 1989 to 1997).…”

Sediment-quality assessment of Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake and the upstream reach of the Columbia River, Washington, 1992

“…OCDD is generally present only as a minor congener in reported analyses of dioxins and furans in effluent and sediment associated with pulp mills (Clement andothers, 1989, andRappe andothers, 1989) and in the analysis from the pulp mill at Castlegar (James McLaren, Celgar Pulp Company, written commun., 1992). OCDD has been shown to be a major congener produced by incineration of municipal solid waste (Czuczwa and Kites, 1986;Miyata and others, 1988), transported by prevailing winds in the atmosphere (Eitzer and Kites, 1989) and widely deposited in lake, stream, and marine sediments (Kites, 1990;MacDonald and Cretney, 1992;and Borman and others, 1989). Although other environmental sources produce dioxins and furans in which OCDD is the prominent congener, its extreme widespread occurrence and presence in remote locations (Czuczwa and Kites, 1986;Frank Rinella, U.S. Geological Survey, written commun., 1992) attest to atmospheric transport being a major transport mechanism.…”

Bioavailability of chlorinated dibenzo‐p ‐dioxins and dibenzofurans to dungeness crab (Cancer magister) at marine pulp mill sites in British Columbia, Canada

“…The result has been a decline in PCDD/F concentrations in biota, and in recent years a number of previously closed fisheries areas have been reopened [9]. The PCDD/Fs from combustion (both from the mills and ambient deposition) and traces of pentachlorophenol (PCP) are more minor contaminants that have proven to be difficult to eliminate completely from the mills or coastal environments [12, 13, 16, 17].…”