MASS BALANCES ON PCBS AND PAHS IN THE NY/NJ HARBOR ESTUARY

摘要

In a project funded by the New York Academy of Sciences, complete mass balances on the sum of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and homologs 3-9 as well as thirteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been constructed for the NY/NJ Harbor Estuary. Data from the CARP (Contaminant Assessment and Reduction Project), R-EMAP (Regional Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program), and NJADN (New Jersey Atmospheric Deposition Network) were used to estimate loadings from tributaries, atmospheric deposition, wastewater treatment plant discharges, combined sewer overflows (CSOs), and stormwater runoff as well as losses due to storage in sediments, dredging, tidal exchange, and volatilization. For the sum of PCBs, the largest source (about 56% of the total load) was the Hudson River. For PCB homologs 6-9, stormwater and CSOs contributed 60-80% of the total load. The mass balance was closed for homologs 6-9. For homologs 3-5, losses exceed inputs, likely due to volatilization of PCBs historically accumulated in the sediments. For PAHs, stormwater was found to contribute, on average, half of the total loads of individual PAHs to the system. Mass balances were closed for most PAHs. In cases when the PAH mass balance was not closed, uncertainties in the data are most likely responsible for the discrepancies.