Publication Summary

Title

Polychlorinated Dibenzo-P-Dioxins and Dibenzofurans in Snake River Suspended Particulate Matter

Month-Year PublishedAugust 1997
Online Availability
View this publication in Acrobat PDF format
1532 kilobytes,  requires version 4.0 or later of Adobe Acrobat Reader Software  get Acrobat Reader
Short Description

We measured concentrations of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD) and other polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDDs/PCDFs) in suspended particulate matter (SPM) collected near the mouth of the Snake River during October 1996. The objective of this survey was to estimate the daily 2,3,7,8-TCDD load at the Snake River mouth under low-flow conditions and compare it to the target load for the Snake River watershed as described in EPA′s total maximum daily load (TMDL) for the Columbia River basin.

(Also see abstract below)
Publication Number97-328
Author(s)Serdar, D.
Print Availability
Request from the program.
Number of pages 13 pp. + app. (37 total)
Keywords basin, chlorinated, Columbia River, dioxin, dioxins, flow, particulate matter, pcdds/pcdfs, river, Snake River, stream, TMDL, Total Maximum Daily Load, toxic, toxicity, water, watershed
Subject Waterbodies
Snake River,
Lake Sacajewea
map of Washington state showing locations of subject waterbodies
Related Publications TitleRelationship    
Focus Sheet: Wallula Nonattainment Area for Particulate Mattersimilar topic
Focus on Particulate Mattersimilar topic
Abstract Long Description

We measured concentrations of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD) and other polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDDs/PCDFs) in suspended particulate matter (SPM) collected near the mouth of the Snake River during October 1996. The objective of this survey was to estimate the daily 2,3,7,8-TCDD load at the Snake River mouth under low-flow conditions and compare it to the target load for the Snake River watershed as described in EPA′s total maximum daily load (TMDL) for the Columbia River basin.

Two PCDDs and three PCDFs were detected in SPM; 2,3,7,8-TCDD was not found at a detection limit of 0.24 pg/g. The total maximum possible load of 2,3,7,8-TCDD at the Snake River mouth was 0.25 mg/day, about one-fifth of the target load for the Snake River watershed. The total maximum possible toxicity equivalent (TEQ) load was estimated to be 0.76 mg/day. We recommend additional monitoring to determine upstream loading of PCDDs/PCDFs and to assess the effects of high flows on the downstream transport of these compounds.

This page last updated August 17, 2011