Polychlorobiphenyl behaviour in the water/sediment system of the Seine river, France

doi:10.1016/S0043-1354(97)00328-X

Water Research

Volume 32, Issue 4, April 1998, Pages 1204-1212

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0043-1354(97)00328-X Get rights and content

Abstract

Investigations concerning the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) levels conducted from 1984 to 1992, showed persistent pollution in the surface sediment of the Seine river (from 50 to 26000 μg/kg of dry weight). A significant correlation between the particulate organic carbon (POC) and the PCB levels in the surface sediment was found (P⩽0.05). In sediment from different depths (3, 10 and 25 cm), our results led to the same conclusion: PCB levels increased according to the depth and were related to the rise of POC levels. Sediment PCB patterns at Maisons Laffitte, Achères and Porcheville showed no microbial biodegradation in the sediment of the Seine river even in the deepest sediment under methanogenic conditions. The distribution of different PCB components in the sediment appeared to depend mainly on their physical and chemical properties.

Introduction

Although their industrial production ceased during the seventies, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) play a major part in the contamination of the environment, because of their high physico-chemical stability (Michel and Abarnou, 1983). The worldwide evolution of the PCB pollution has shown maximum levels during the sixties and the seventies mainly because of their use in paints, plasticizers, resins and as components of dielectric fluids. Their decrease in urban zones seems to result from their prohibition by the French legislation in open systems in 1976 and in closed systems (general prohibition) in 1986. Still, a rise of their concentrations was found in polar areas, although they are remote from pollution (Muir et al., 1995).

Among the European rivers flowing into the northern seas, the Seine river shows the highest level of PCB contamination (Simon, 1984; Simon, 1990), mainly originating from the Parisian area. Sediments from the Seine river in Paris exhibited PCB levels over 5000 ppb (Chevreuil et al., 1987). The resulting PCB contamination of the molluscs from the Seine estuary (Claisse, 1989) whose contents exceed the French alimentary norm (2 ppm of dry weight, French Food Standards) has effects on human health and economical impacts upon fishery activities.

PCB fate and distribution among different biotic and abiotic compartments is controlled by their physical and chemical properties: vapour pressure, octanol/water partition coefficient (Kow) (Hawker and Connel, 1988) and water solubility (Doucette and Andren, 1988). Moreover, the sediment/water partitioning depends on the composition of the sediment (Horzempa and Di Toro, 1983; Voice, 1983). A sediment with a high organic content adsorbs lipophilic compounds more strongly than a sediment with a dominant mineralogenic character (Larsson, 1984). Sediment can be defined by an organic carbon partition coefficient (Koc). In a static model system, PCB contents were found to be higher in the suspended matter than in the underlying sediment, which suggests that desorption from sediment or anaerobic degradation in sediment may be important (Larsson, 1984). In addition, under experimental conditions, desorption of PCBs from sediment to water was always observed when PCBs were added to the sediment (Larsson, 1984).

The distribution of pollutants in the sediment may also be influenced by diffusion, bioturbation and biodegradation phenomena (Schindler et al., 1995). In aquatic systems, partitioning is one of the most important processes for this nonpolar class of compounds because of its impact on the subsequent pollutant transfer to the biotic compartment. The Parisian area causes particular concern for this pollution, as drinking water is directly taken from the surface water (Chevreuil and Granier, 1987).

Our purpose was to present a comprehensive view of the PCB contamination in the superficial sediment of the bed of the Seine river from 1984 to 1992, taking into account the influence of the particulate organic carbon (POC) upon the pollutant levels. Additionally, we investigated the fate processes of these organochlorines, namely the exchanges with the surrounding water column and the dechlorination of PCBs in anaerobic sediment. Thus, PCB levels and PCB patterns in the sediment from locations at different depths, in the suspended matter and in the pore water were studied.

Section snippets

Sampling

A first sediment sampling program was carried out over a 4-year period from 1984 to 1988, concentrating mainly in the Parisian area, stretching from the confluence of the Marne river and the Seine river: Ivry, immediately upstream of Paris, to Porcheville far downstream of Paris [Fig. 1(a)]. In the Parisian area, in relation with the canalization of the rivers, the sedimentation zones are restricted and determined the location of the sampling points.

A second sediment sampling program was

Time evolution of PCB pollution in the catchment basin of the Seine river

Fig. 1(a) and (b) shows a comprehensive representation of the PCB levels found in the surface sediment sampled from 1984 to 1992 (n=69). The contamination levels were categorized according to five standard classes (values were expressed as μg/kg of dry weight): low (≤50); medium (>50–200); high (>200–1000); very high (>1000–10 000); exceptional (≥10 000). The PCB contents found in the Seine river downstream from Paris after the urban and industrial sewages were among the highest levels found

Conclusion

Our investigations showed the persistence of PCB pollution in the surface sediment of the Seine river during the last 8 years in spite of their prohibition.

The sediment POC levels appear to be a reliable bioindicator of pollution as it is correlated with the PCB levels, in surface sediment as well as in the sediment from different depths.

The distribution of the different PCB congeners seems to depend mainly on physical and chemical properties: water solubility for the less chlorinated PCBs and

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Polychlorobiphenyl behaviour in the water/sediment system of the Seine river, France

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Sampling

Time evolution of PCB pollution in the catchment basin of the Seine river

Conclusion

Chemosphere

Wat. Res.

Mar. Poll. Bull.

Chemosphere

Wat. Res.

Sci. Total Environ.

The Science of the Total Environment

The Science of the Total Environment

The Science of the Total Environment

The Science of the Total Environment

Reductive dechlorination of polychlorinated biphenyls in anaerobic sediments

Environ. Sci. Technol.

Chlorinated hydrocarbons and radionucleide chronologies in sediments of Hudson river and estuary, New York

Environ. Sci. Technol.

Differential bioaccumulation of non-ortho-substituted and other PCB congeners in coastal artic invertebrates and fish

Environ. Sci. Technol.

Drinking water pollution by polychlorinated biphenyls in the Paris area (France)

Chemosphere

Metabolite detection as evidence for naturally occurring aerobic PCB biodegradation in Hudson river sediments

Environ. Sci. Technol.

Sediment-associated contaminants—an overview of scientific bases for developing remedial options

Hydrobiologia

Biogéochimie de la matière organique en milieu estuarien: stratégies d'échantillonnage et de recherche élaborés en Loire (France)

Oceanologica Acta

Octanol-water coefficients of polychlorinated biphenyl congeners

Environ. Sci. Technol.

Catabolic characteristics of biphenyl-utilizing isolates which cometabolize PCBs

Biodegradation