Semipermeable membrane device (SPMD) for monitoring PCDD and PCDF levels from a paper mill effluent in the Androscoggin River, Maine, USA.
Paper mill effluents may contain polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) that are normally generated due to chlorinated bleaching of pulp and paper. We used the semipermeable membrane device (SPMD) to monitor PCDD/F levels upstream and downstream of a paper mill on the Androscoggin River, in Jay (ME). Following the 36 day deployment, SPMD dialysis and cleanup, the samples were analyzed by HRGC/HRMS. Total concentrations of PCDD/Fs in SPMDs (sum of all tetra-through octachlorinated congeners) ranged from 4.71 pg g(-1) to 26.26 pg g(-1). Five out of the targeted 17 toxic congeners were detected, including: 2,3,7,8-TCDF; 1,2,3,7,8-PeCDF; 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF; 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDD and OCDD. Permeability reference compounds (PRCs) were used for in situ calibration of the SPMD sampling rate (Rs). In all sites, water concentrations were the highest for OCDD (0.081-0.103 pg l(-1)), and the lowest for 1,2,3,7,8-PeCDF (0.005-0.009 pg l(-1)). There was not a consistent pattern of upstream-downstream gradient in the PCDD/F levels. This suggested that processes other than the mill in Jay (multiple sources, river dynamics) governed the flux of PCDD/Fs in the sampling locations. The SPMD results were validated by comparison to other studies on the Androscoggin River and elsewhere, confirming the potential of the device as a useful monitoring technique for PCDD/Fs in large river systems.
Charlestra
Lucner
L
Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA.
Courtemanch
David L
DL
Amirbahman
Aria
A
Patterson
Howard
H
D001572:Benzofurans / Q000032:analysis*; D000072338:Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005843:Geography; D007220:Industrial Waste / Q000032:analysis*; D008281:Maine; D010209:Paper; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis; D045483:Rivers; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
D001572:Benzofurans; D000072338:Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated; D007220:Industrial Waste; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical