PAHs and PCBs deposited in surficial sediments along a rural to urban transect in a Mid-Atlantic coastal river basin (USA)

Abstract

PAHs and PCBs were measured in river sediments along a 226 km longitudinal transect that spanned rural to urban land use settings through Valley and Ridge, Piedmont Plateau and Coastal Plain physiographic provinces in the Potomac River basin (mid-Atlantic USA). A gradient in PAH concentrations was found in river bed sediments along the upstream transect in the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers that correlated with population densities in the nearby sub-basins. Sediment PAH concentrations halved per each ∼40 km of transect distance upstream (i.e., the half-concentration distance) from the urban center (Washington, DC) of the Potomac River basin in direct proportion to population density. The PAH molecular composition was consistent across all geologic provinces, revealing a dominant pyrogenic source. Fluoranthene to perylene ratios served as useful markers for urban inputs, with a ratio > 2.4 observed in sediments near urban structures such as roadways, bridges and sewer outfalls. PCBs in sediments were not well correlated with population densities along the river basin transect, but the highest concentrations were found in the urban Coastal Plain region near Washington, DC and in the Shenandoah River near a known industrial Superfund site. PAHs were moderately correlated with sediment total organic carbon (TOC) in the Shenandoah River and Coastal Plain Potomac River regions, but TOC was poorly correlated with PCB concentrations throughout the entire basin. Although both PAHs and PCBs are widely recognized as urban-derived contaminants, their concentration profiles and geochemistry in river sediments were uniquely different throughout the upper Potomac River basin.

Keywords:

• PCBs
• PAHs
• surficial sediments
• Potomac River
• emission sources

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the assistance and coordination of boat time by Dr. Paige Doelling-Brown for the collection of river sediments. This project was conducted as partial fulfillment of an MS degree by V.S. Cui in the Department and Chemistry and Biochemistry at George Mason University.

Notes

^a Equivalent distance downstream from the headwaters of the south fork of the Shenandoah River to Washington, DC on the Potomac River.

^a Sediment texture expressed in weight percent.

^b Weight Percent total organic carbon (TOC).

^c Concentrations are ng/g dry weight (dw).