Release of halocarbons from an industrial estuary

Abstract

In order to study the release of low molecular weight halocarbons from a contaminated river into the adjacent sea and into the atmosphere, an investigation was carried out in the Elbe estuary, FRG, in October 1986. Results for the halocarbons chloroform, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, carbon tetrachloride, trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene in relation to salinity, tidal phase and geographical position in the estuary are presented. The results show that release of halocarbons into the estuary acts as an atmospheric source for all compounds investigated, and that evaporation is a rapid and favoured process since the halocarbons are strongly supersaturated in the estuary. The halocarbons are known to be globally spread via the atmosphere, and later found in remote areas like Arctic waters.