Spatial and temporal trends in occurrence of emerging and legacy contaminants in the Lower Columbia River 2008-2010

Science of the Total Environment
By: , and 

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Abstract

The Lower Columbia River in Oregon and Washington, USA, is an important resource for aquatic and terrestrial organisms, agriculture, and commerce. An 86-mile stretch of the river was sampled over a 3 year period in order to determine the spatial and temporal trends in the occurrence and concentration of water-borne organic contaminants. Sampling occurred at 10 sites along this stretch and at 1 site on the Willamette River using the semipermeable membrane device (SPMD) and the polar organic chemical integrative sampler (POCIS) passive samplers. Contaminant profiles followed the predicted trends of lower numbers of detections and associated concentrations in the rural areas to higher numbers and concentrations at the more urbanized sites. Industrial chemicals, plasticizers, and PAHs were present at the highest concentrations. Differences in concentrations between sampling periods were related to the amount of rainfall during the sampling period. In general, water concentrations of wastewater-related contaminants decreased and concentrations of legacy contaminants slightly increased with increasing rainfall amounts.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Spatial and temporal trends in occurrence of emerging and legacy contaminants in the Lower Columbia River 2008-2010
Series title Science of the Total Environment
DOI 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.07.128
Volume 484
Year Published 2014
Language English
Publisher Elsevier
Contributing office(s) Columbia Environmental Research Center, Contaminant Biology Program
Description 9 p.
First page 322
Last page 330
Time Range Start 2008-01-01
Time Range End 2010-12-31
Country United States
State Oregon;Washington
Other Geospatial Columbia River
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