United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Chesapeake Bay
Program
Annapolis MD 21401
Research and Development
EPA-600/S3-83-Q18  June 1983
 Project  Summary
Organic  Compounds  in   Surface
Sediments   and   Oyster   Tissues
from  the  Chesapeake  Bay
R. J. Huggett and R. H. Bieri
  Detailed in the first part of this report
is a development and discussion of the
methodology used to  extract  and
analyze sediment  and oyster tissue
samples from Chesapeake  Bay for
organic  compounds.   The   method
includes extraction, fractionation, and
subsequent  analysis using glass
capillary gas chromatography and glass
capillary gas  chromotography-mass
spectrometry (GC-MS). An extensive
list of the mass spectral data and related
information  is  contained  in  the
appendices.  The complete  bank of
processed data  is  also  available on
computer tapes at the Virginia Institute
of  Marine Science and  at  the
Environmental  Protection Agency's
Chesapeake Bay  Program.  Also
included in this report are the results of
volatile  halogenated organic
compounds  determined  in  water
collected near the outfalls of several
facilities using chlorine, as well as from
river mouths. Distributions of the total,
and some specific, organic compounds
within  the  Bay  are  presented in
histograms. Analyses clearly show that
unsubstituted  polynuclear aromatic
hydrocarbons are the most prominent
toxic pollutants in the Bay. The applica-
tion of two different search routines,
one concentrating on  compounds at
levels greater than 50 ppb and the other
on temporal changes,  allows  a quick
determination of where problem areas
may exist  and where additional
investigation may be indicated.
  This Project Summary was developed
by EPA's Chesapeake Bay Program.
Annapolis.  MD. to  announce  key
findings of the research project that is
fully documented in a separate report of
the same  title (see  Project Report
ordering information at back).


Introduction
  The production and use of synthetic
organic compounds has greatly increased
since the Second World War, and the
loadings of these  chemicals into the
environment have thus greatly increased.
Many of these chemicals are absorbed by
plants,  ingested  by  animals, and
accumulated through food webs; this
may lead to acute or chronic toxic effects
in the organisms or make them unfit for
human consumption.
  The purpose of this project was  to
monitor the concentrations of synthetic
organic  compounds in sediments and in
oyster tissue samples at representative
areas of the Bay, at the mouths of the
major tributaries, and at locations where
high concentrations  of  organic
compounds are likely to be present. Also,
the concentrations of  volatile
halogenated organic compounds in the
water  column were  determined  at
outfalls  of several facilities  where
chlorine is used and at the mouths of the
major tributaries.
  An analytical scheme was developed to
extract, identify and quantitate as broad a
spectrum of  organic  compounds as
possible with glass  capillary gas
chromatography and gas chromatography-
mass spectrometry. This analysis limited
the compounds that could be identified to
those that are stable and volatile enough
to pass through a gas chromatograph.

-------
  Procedure/ Methodology
    A Hewlett-Packard  3354B laboratory
  automation system was used to collect,
  process, and store chromatographicdata,
  and software  packages were used to do
  the following:
    a)  calculate  concentrations  of gas
       chromatographic (G.C.) peaks by
       reference to internal standards,
       discriminate against peaks with
       less  than   a   predetermined
       minimum concentration,  and
       calculate  the   relative aromatic
       retention index and the pesticide
       retention index,
    b)  display  both processed and nor-
       malized  data  on  the  HP3354B
       system  console (H.P. 2648 termi-
       nal) and line printer (H.P. 9866B),
    c)  plot bar graphs from processed data,

    d)  plot chromatograms from raw data,

    e)  compare G.C.  peaks in samples
       collected at a particular station at
       different times  an'd  flag samples
       with concentrations of a given peak
       that  are either ten times larger or
       smaller  than the concentration in
       the first sample,

    f)  compare peaks  in gas chromato-
       grams  of samples from all  Bay
       stations and flag stations where
       the concentrations of some peaks
       exceed 50 ppb, and

    g)  search data files for peaks eluting
       within a specified retention index
       window and list sample identifi-
       cation codes, retention times, and
       concentrations.
  Results
    Baltimore Harbor, The Chesapeake and
  Delaware Canal,  and the Susquehanna
  River   may  be  sources  of  organic
  pollutants  in  the   sediments  of the
  Chesapeake Bay.  In  the search  for
  organic  compounds at concentrations
  greater than 50 ppb in sediments, it was
       generally found that more uniform and
       more    highly  concentrated  organic
       pollutants were contained in the upper
       portion of the Bay than in the lower part
       and  that  unsubstituted  polynuclear
       aromatics (PNAs) are the major group of
       compounds present. Concentration sums
       of  organic  compounds in lower  Bay
       sediments tended to be higher at river-
       mouth stations than at open Bay stations
       or at stations close to the Eastern Shore.
       In the upper Bay, samples collected from
       river-mouth stations  also tended to
       contain  high  concentrations.  In  the
       search for changes in concentration over
       time,  it  was  observed that  sediment
       concentrations from the  mouth  of the
       Susquehanna River are highly variable.
       This is due to the differences in sediment
       composition (percent silt/clay and sand)
       over  time  and  indicates  that  Bay
       sediments may be static for some time
       but may shift in response to storms and
       seasonal changes. Thus, areas that are
       sinks for organic pollutants at some times
       of the year may become sources at other
       times.   Organic  compounds  at
       concentrations greater than  50 ppb in
       oyster  tissue  primarily  included  the
       higher  substituted  naphthalenes,
       fluorenes,   dibenzo  thiophenes,  and
       phenanthrenes.
  The   volatile  halogenated  organic
compounds identified were chloroform,
1,1,1 -trichloroethane,  carbor
tetrachloride, trichloroethylene, bromo
dichloromethane,  dibromochlorometh-
ane, tetrachloroethylene, and bromoform

Recommendations
  This   study  was  developed as an
investigation of organic compounds in
estuarine sediments and in oyster tissue.
Although many organic compounds, both
natural and synthetic, can be found in the
sediments, this  research  focused on
those  compounds most likely to exhibit
toxicity to  Bay biota.
  Sediment  composition   is  a  major
determinant  of  the  content of organic
compounds;  therefore,  sampling  for
organic compounds in sediments should
include  some   sediment  particle size
analysis.
  Further research  into  organic
compounds  in  estuarine  sediments
should  accomplish  the following: (a]
further  delineation of oyster/sediment
concentration  relationship,  (b)  more
sampling to define temporal changes in
sediment  concentrations, (c) investiga-
tion  of  sources  of   PNAs,  and (d]
investigation of the toxicity of  sediment
concentrations to biota.
          R. J. Huggett and R. H. Bieri are with Virginia Institute of Marine Science,
            Gloucester Point,  VA 23062.
          Duane Wilding is the EPA Project Officer (see below).
          This Project Summary covers the following two reports:
            "Organic Compounds in Surface Sediments and Oyster  Tissues from the
            Chesapeake Bay," (Order No. PB 83-187 443; Cost: $ 17.50, subject to change).
            "Organic Compounds in Surface  Sediments and  Oyster Tissues from the
            Chesapeake Bay—Appendices," (Order No. PB 83-187  450; Cost: $23.50,
            subject to change).
          The above reports will be available only from:
                  National Technical Information Service
                  5285 Port Royal Road
                  Springfield, VA 22161
                  Telephone: 703-487-4650
          The EPA Project Officer can be contacted at:
                  Environmental Research Laboratory
                  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                  Gulf Breeze, FL 32561
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Center for Environmental Research
Information
Cincinnati OH 45268
                Postage and
                Fees Paid
                Environmental
                Protection
                Agency
                EPA 335
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
      PS   0000329
    .  U  S  ENVIR  PROTECJION  A6ENCY
      REGION  5 LIBRARY
      230  S  DEARBORN  STREET
      CHICAGO IL  6060*1

-------