Grantee Research Project Results
2005 Progress Report: Concentrations and Enantiomeric Fractions of Chlordane in Sediments from Long Island Sound
EPA Grant Number: R832215Title: Concentrations and Enantiomeric Fractions of Chlordane in Sediments from Long Island Sound
Investigators: Zhang, Pengfei , Melcer, Michael E , Jans, Urs
Institution: City University of New York
Current Institution: City College of the City University of New York , U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: February 1, 2005 through January 31, 2008
Project Period Covered by this Report: February 1, 2005 through January 31, 2006
Project Amount: $299,728
RFA: Greater Research Opportunities: Persistent, Bioaccumulative Chemicals (2004) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Land and Waste Management , Safer Chemicals , Hazardous Waste/Remediation
Objective:
Long Island Sound (LIS) is one of the largest estuarine systems on the Atlantic coast of the United States, providing vital transportation and rich fishing and shell-fishing grounds for commercial interests. The Sound, however, has been contaminated with various pollutants, including organochlorine pesticides such as chlordane (a persistent, bioaccumulative pesticide widely used in the United States from 1945 to 1988). Limited long-term monitoring data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) showed a decline in chlordane concentration in LIS surficial sediments after 1988. The objectives of this research project are to: (1) determine the rates of chlordane concentration decline in the surficial sediments from LIS; (2) elucidate the mechanisms that caused the chlordane concentration decline in LIS sediments; and (3) examine the chiral signature of chlordane residues in the LIS sediments to assess the significance of microbial degradation on chlordane removal.
Progress Summary:
We revisited eight LIS sites previously established by NOAA’s National Status and Trend Program. Surficial sediment samples were collected at the eight sites, and core sediments were collected at four of the most contaminated sites. Protocols for sediment extraction and cleanup and analytical procedures to determine chlordane concentrations and enantiomeric fractions (using gas chromatography-electron capture detection and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy, respectively) have been developed. Our request for archived sediment samples has been approved by NOAA.
All the surficial sediment samples collected have been extracted and analyzed. Results indicate that chlordane and other pesticides (e.g., dieldrin; 4,4’-DDE; 4,4’-DDD; and 4,4’-DDT) still are present at all sites. At Little Neck Bay and Manhasset Bay, total chlordane concentrations (29.2 ng/g d.w. and 41.8 ng/g d.w., respectively) are much higher than the probable effect level (a level above which adverse effects are frequently expected) of 4.79 ng/g d.w. specified in the sediment quality guideline of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Part of the core sediment samples at Little Neck Bay (down to a depth of 21 cm at an interval of 5 cm), Manhasset Bay (down to 31 cm), and Throgs Neck (down to 31 cm) have been extracted and analyzed. Chlordane concentrations at the three sites did not show a decreasing trend towards the surface, presumably because of postdeposition mixing of the sediment. Trans- and cis-chlordane were found racemic for all surficial and core sediment samples with sufficient amount of chlordane for reliable enantiomeric fraction determination. This finding indicates racemic chlordane sources for LIS and the lack of enantiomeric-selective biodegradation of chlordane in sediments. Our preliminary results demonstrate that chlordane and other organochlorine pesticides still may pose risks to the benthic community at western LIS, and that chlordane is more persistent in sediments (because of the lack of biodegradation) than in soils where biodegradation is common.
Future Activities:
Our future efforts will include: collection (scheduled in early April 2006) of surficial sediment samples at the Connecticut River and Port Jefferson, which were surveyed in previous NOAA studies; extraction and analysis of the remaining surficial and core sediment samples; analysis of the archived surficial sediment samples for direct comparison with recently collected surficial sediment samples to determine concentration declines; determination of the organic carbon contents in surficial and core sediment samples (to examine whether there is a correlation between pesticide concentrations and organic carbon contents); and age-dating of the selected core sediments using 137Cs and 210Pb.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 7 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
chlordane, Long Island Sound, LIS, organochlorine pesticides, surficial sediments, microbial degradation, sediment, ecosystems, environmental monitoring, aquatic ecosystem, ecosystem restoration, aquatic sediments,, Scientific Discipline, Water, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Restoration, Ecology and Ecosystems, Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration, contaminated sediment, microbial breakdown, restoration strategies, degradation rates, remediation, aquatic ecosystemsProgress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.