Publication Summary

This is the Quality Assurance Project Plan for the study, Monitoring 303(d) Listed Pesticides, PCBs, and PAHs in the Lower Columbia River Drainage Using a Semipermeable Membrane Device.

The States of Washington and Oregon currently have 303(d) listings in the Lower Columbia River below Bonneville Dam for several chlorinated compounds exceeding human health criteria in fish tissue. The contaminants include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and the pesticides DDT, its breakdown product DDE and dieldrin. Oregon also has a segment listed for polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), based on water column exceedences of human health criteria.

The interagency Columbia River Toxics Group (CRTG) has reviewed the available data and concluded that little is known about current inputs of these chemicals to the lower river. This information is needed to help EPA, Washington, and Oregon design a strategy to address toxics listings in the Lower Columbia.

Through the efforts of CRTG, EPA and the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) have entered into an agreement providing funding to Ecology to conduct a surface water monitoring program for PCBs, DDT compounds, dieldrin, and PAHs in the main stem Lower Columbia River and selected tributaries, during 2003-04. Because low water column concentrations are anticipated, a passive sampling technique employing a semipermeable membrane device (SPMD) will be used to concentrate and quantify the chemicals of interest. The objectives of the Lower Columbia SPMD study are as follows:

1. Measure ambient concentrations and estimate loadings of 303(d) listed organic compounds at five main stem and eight tributary sites in the Lower Columbia River between Bonneville Dam and the river mouth.

2. Evaluate seasonal differences in concentrations and loading estimates by sampling in late summer, winter, and spring.

3. Identify and rank sources of these contaminants to the river.

Link to EIM data for User Study ID AJOH0041