Geology topics

R. J. Norstrom

Publications and source records attributed to R. J. Norstrom.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2009

Persistence of organochlorine chemical residues in fish from the Tombigbee River (Alabama, USA): Continuing risk to wildlife from a former DDT manufacturing facility

Organochlorine pesticide and total polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations were measured in largemouth bass from the Tombigbee River near a former DDT manufacturing facility at McIntosh, Alabama. Evaluation of mean p,p???- and o,p???-DDT isomer concentrations and o,p???- versus p,p???-isomer proportions in McIntosh bass indicated that DDT is moving off site from the facility and into the Tombigbee River. Concentrations of p,p???-DDT isomers in McIntosh bass remained unchanged from 1974 to 2004 and were four times greater than contemporary concentrations from a national program. Total DDT in McIntosh bass exceeded dietary effect concentrations developed for bald eagle and osprey. Hexachlorobenzene, PCBs, and toxaphene concentrations in bass from McIntosh also exceeded thresholds to protect fish and piscivorous wildlife. Whereas concentrations of DDT and most other organochlorine chemicals in fish have generally declined in the U.S. since their ban, concentrations of DDT in fish from McIntosh remain elevated and represent a threat to wildlife.

Environmental Pollution↗

USGS1999

Comparison of organochlorine contaminants among sea otter (Enhydra lutris) populations in California and Alaska

Organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) including non- ortho PCBs, polychlorinated dibenzo- p -dioxins (PCDDs), and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) were measured in sea otter liver tissue from California, southeast Alaska, and the western Aleutian archipelago collected between 1988 and 1992. Average total dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane concentrations for California otters (850 μg/kg wet weight) were over 20 times higher than in Aleutian otters (40 μg/kg) and over 800 times higher than otters from southeast Alaska (1 μg/kg). Levels for total PCBs in Aleutian otters (310 μg/kg) were 1.7 times higher than levels in California otters (190 μg/kg) and 38 times higher than otters from southeast Alaska (8 μg/kg). Levels for PCDD and PCDF were extremely low in all otter populations. Levels of PCBs in Aleutian and Californian otters are abnormally high when compared with southeast Alaskan otters. The source of PCBs to the Aleutian Islands remains unclear and vital to understanding the potential impacts to sea otters.

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry↗

USGS1998

Contaminants in ospreys from the Pacific Northwest: I. Trends and patterns in polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and -dibenzofurans in eggs and plasma

Osprey ( Pandion haliaetus ) eggs were collected from 1991 to 1997 at nests (n = 121) upstream and downstream of bleached kraft pulp mills and at reference sites in the Fraser and Columbia River drainage systems of British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon. Blood samples were collected from nestling ospreys during the 1992 breeding season on the Thompson River. Samples were analyzed for polychlorinated dibenzo- p -dioxins (PCDDs) and -dibenzofurans (PCDFs). Mean concentrations of 2,3,7,8-TCDD were significantly higher in eggs collected in 1991 at downstream compared to upstream nests near pulp mills at Kamloops and Castlegar, British Columbia. There were no significant temporal trends in 2,3,7,8-TCDD, -TCDF or other measured compounds at a sample of nests monitored between 1991 and 1994 downstream of the Castlegar pulp mill, despite changes in bleaching technology (CIO 2 substitution). However, by 1997 concentrations of 2,3,7,8-TCDD and -TCDF were significantly lower than previous years in nests sampled downstream at both Castlegar and Kamloops. An unusual pattern of higher chlorinated PCDDs and PCDFs was found in many of the osprey eggs collected in this study, and considerable individual variation in the pattern existed among eggs from the same site. For example, eggs from four different nests at one study area (Quesnel) on the Fraser River had concentrations of 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDD ranging from <1 to 1,100 ng/kg and OCDD from <1 to 7,000 ng/kg wet weight. Higher mean concentrations of HpCDD and OCDD were found in eggs from the Thompson River, a tributary of the Fraser, compared to the Columbia River, and concentrations were generally higher at nests upstream of pulp mills. In plasma samples, 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDD and OCDD were the main compounds detected, with no significant differences measured between samples upstream versus downstream or earlier versus later in the breeding season. Use of chlorophenolic wood preservatives by lumber processors was considered the main source of higher chlorinated PCDD/Fs throughout the systems, based on patterns of trace PCDFs in eggs and significant correlations between egg concentrations of pentachlorophenol and both HpCDD (r = 0.891, p < 0.01) and OCDD (r = 0.870, p < 0.01).

British Columbia, Oregon, Washington↗