Organochlorine Contaminants in Headwater Peatlands, and Selected Estuary Sites of the Moose River

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Abstract
Peatland waters of the Moose River basin, as well as surficial sediments and vascular plants of the estuary were sampled in 1982. Elevated levels of PCBs were found at all five peatland sites; concentrations ranged from 28 to 65 ng/L. Of the seventeen organochlorine pesticides investigated, the hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (a-and y-BHC) were the most prominent with total BHC concentrations ranging from 1.5 to 13.7 ng/L. The presence of these contaminants in ombrotrophic bogs indicated that there was atmospheric deposition of organochlorine contaminants in the basin. Analyses of surficial sediments, collected from tidal flats and coastal marshes, showed that PCBs and organochlorine pesticides were not present. Samples of Triglochin maritima L. seed heads and Typha latifolia L. roots were also free of PCBs.

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