Chicago’s Sanitary and Ship Canal sediment: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, brominated flame retardants, and organophosphate esters

Abstract

The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) links the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River starting in downtown Chicago. In addition to storm water, the CSSC receives water from Chicago's wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). Such effluents are known to be sources of organic pollutants to water and sediment. Therefore in 2013, we collected 10 sediment samples from the CSSC and measured the concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), brominated flame retardants, and organophosphate esters (OPEs). Geometric mean concentrations of the summed concentrations of 16 PAHs ranged from 11,000 to 420,000 ng/g dw, with the highest concentrations located at each end of the canal. Total PCB concentrations had a geometric mean of 1,400 ± 500 ng/g dw. Brominated flame retardants were separated into two groups: polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and non-PBDEs. Concentrations of PBDEs and those of the non-PBDE flame retardants had a geometric average of 83 ± 19 and 7.0 ± 5.8 ng/g dw, respectively. The summed concentrations of 8 OPEs ranged from 470 to 2,800 ng/g dw, with the highest concentration detected at a site located downstream of the Stickney water reclamation plant. Using ANOVA results, some hypotheses on sources to the CSSC could be formulated: downtown Chicago is probably a source of PAHs, the Cal-Sag Channel may be a source of PCBs, and neither the WWTP nor the Cal-Sag Channel seem to be significant sources of brominated flame retardants or OPEs.

Spatial distribution and bioaccumulation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in snails (Bellamya aeruginosa) and sediments from Taihu Lake area, China

“…This is in accordance with our previous finding in shellfish, showing that PCBs in shellfish ( Mytilus edulis ) in Yangtze River Delta is lower than in other parts of the world (Yin et al 2015). ∑ 7 PCBs in sediments (0.097–0.57 ng g −1  dw) in the present study were lower than in sediments from the Hanoi region, Vietnam (7.7 ng g −1  dw) (Nhan et al 2001), the Chicago sanitary and shop canal in USA (35 ng g −1  dw) (Peverly et al 2015), and national data from the Pearl River Delta, China (48 ng g −1  dw) (Lai et al 2015). Levels of CB-209 in the present study is in accordance with what has been reported previously in Taihu Lake (Zhang and Jiang 2005).…”

“…This is similar to levels reported in snails from Japan ( Certithidea rhizophorarum , 31 ng g −1  lw) (Kobayashi et al 2015), and South China ( Ampullariidae , 52 ng g −1  lw) (She et al 2013). ∑ 8 PBDE concentrations in sediments (0.067–0.92 ng g −1  dw) in the present study were slightly greater than those levels reported from Almeria, Spain (0.42 ng g −1  dw) (Eljarrat et al 2005); Scheldt estuary (0.18 ng g −1  dw) (Van Ael et al 2014); and Beijiang River, China (0.11 ng g −1  dw) (Chen et al 2009), but lower than levels reported from hot spot areas such as the Chicago sanitary and shop canal in the USA (38 ng g −1  dw) (Peverly et al 2015); the East Lake, China (45 ng g −1  dw) (Yun et al 2015); and an e-waste dismantling site in Taizhou, China (8.2 ng g −1  dw) (Fu et al 2011). BDE-209 concentrations in sediments ranged from 0.048 to 56 ng g −1  dw (mean 13 ng g −1  dw) in the present study and were comparable to Beijiang River, China (5.2 ng g −1  dw) (Chen et al 2009) and the Chaohu Lake, China (6.5 ng g −1  dw) (Wang et al 2012), but lower than Chicago sanitary and shop canal in USA (83 ng g −1  dw) (Peverly et al 2015) and an e-waste dismantling site in Taizhou, China (460 ng g −1  dw) (Fu et al 2011).…”

Occurrence, distribution, and potential affecting factors of organophosphate flame retardants in sewage sludge of wastewater treatment plants in Henan Province, Central China

“…As OPEs are not chemically bound to the appliances, these compounds can be released into the environment by volatilization, abrasion, and dissolution, and undergo long range atmospheric transportation (Reemtsma et al, 2008;Lai et al, 2015). Therefore, OPEs have been widely detected in the aquatic (Peverly et al, 2015;Zeng et al, 2014), terrestrial (Matsukami et al, 2015), and atmospheric environments (Mizouchi et al, 2015). There is an increased risk of exposure of OPEs to people, as previous studies have reported the presence of OPEs and their metabolites in human hair, nail Cequier et al, 2015), and urine (Cequier et al, 2014).…”

Occurrence and distribution of organophosphorus flame retardants/plasticizers and synthetic musks in sediments from source water in the Pearl River Delta, China

“…With the restriction/ban on PBDEs, the United States, Japan, and several European countries have taken the lead in using OPs as alternative flame retardants. In addition, such researches [23][24][25][26][27] focused on sediment from non-source water bodies, whereas the present study focused on source water. In addition, such researches [23][24][25][26][27] focused on sediment from non-source water bodies, whereas the present study focused on source water.…”