DDE in sediments of the Palos Verdes shelf, California: In situ transformation rates and geochemical fate
Environmental Science & Technology
By: R.P. Eganhouse and J. Pontolillo
Links
- More information: Publisher Index Page (via DOI)
- Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core
Abstract
From 1947 to 1971 the world's largest manufacturer of DDT discharged process wastes into the sewers of Los Angeles County. Roughly 870-1450 t of DDT were released to the ocean off Palos Verdes, CA, a portion of which (???100 t) resides in sediments on the continental shelf and slope. The most abundant DDT compound in the sediments, p,p???-DDE, is degrading by reductive dechlorination, butthe rate of transformation and factors controlling it are not well understood. In order to estimate in situ transformation rates and predict the long-term fate of p,p???-DDE, box cores were collected in 1992 and 2003 from a single location on the Palos Verdes Shelf and analyzed for 8 DDT compounds and 84 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners. The PCBs show no evidence of dechlorination, and inventories did not change between 1992 and 2003. By contrast, the inventory of p,p???-DDE decreased by 43%, whereas that of p,p???-DDMU, the putative reductive dechlorination product increased by 34%. The first-order transformation rate for p,p???-DDE at the study site is 0.051 ?? 0.006 yr-1. A multistep reaction model suggests that inventories of p,p???-DDE and p,p???-DDMU will continue to decline, whereas that of p,p???-DDNU will reach a maximum around 2014.
Suggested Citation
Eganhouse, R., Pontolillo, J., 2008, DDE in sediments of the Palos Verdes shelf, California: In situ transformation rates and geochemical fate: Environmental Science & Technology, v. 42, no. 17, p. 6392-6398, https://doi.org/10.1021/es7029619.
ISSN: 1520-5851 (online)
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | DDE in sediments of the Palos Verdes shelf, California: In situ transformation rates and geochemical fate |
| Series title | Environmental Science & Technology |
| DOI | 10.1021/es7029619 |
| Volume | 42 |
| Issue | 17 |
| Publication Date | March 21, 2008 |
| Year Published | 2008 |
| Language | English |
| Larger Work Type | Article |
| Larger Work Subtype | Journal Article |
| Larger Work Title | Environmental Science and Technology |
| First page | 6392 |
| Last page | 6398 |