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Reconstruction of historical 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin discharges from a former pesticide manufacturing plant to the Lower Passaic River
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Reconstruction of historical 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin discharges from a former pesticide manufacturing plant to the Lower Passaic River

Robert Parette, David J. Velinsky and Wendy N. Pearson
Chemosphere (Oxford), v 212, pp 1125-1132
Dec 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.08.100
PMID: 30286541
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel

Abstract

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD) 2,4,5-Trichlorophenol (2,4,5-TCP) Lower Passaic River (LPR) Newark Bay Reconstruction of historical discharges
Based on chemical fingerprinting and other lines of scientific evidence, a former pesticide manufacturing plant in Newark, New Jersey (U.S.A.) has been implicated in numerous journal articles as the major source of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in the sediments of the Lower Passaic River (LPR). Although the site has been extensively studied for over three decades, no previous study has identified a pathway capable of discharging an amount of 2,3,7,8-TCDD comparable to the mass estimates made for 2,3,7,8-TCDD in the sediments of the LPR and Newark Bay, or examined the timing of specific manufacturing processes at the site in relation to 2,3,7,8-TCDD concentrations in dated sediment cores. A reconstruction of the historical operations at this site was performed, supporting it as the major source of 2,3,7,8-TCDD to the LPR. A 2,4,5-trichlorophenol purification process, utilized prior to September 1954, was specifically identified as a significant source of 2,3,7,8-TCDD to the LPR. This purification process generated a dioxin-rich sludge that was discharged to the river prior to September 1954. Annual 2,4,5-trichlorophenol production, coupled with modeling to predict concentrations of 2,3,7,8-TCDD, indicate that 2,3,7,8-TCDD discharges to the LPR from this one process (20–80 kg) are consistent with mass estimates of 2,3,7,8-TCDD in the river (30–50 kg). 2,3,7,8-TCDD and cesium-137 data from nearby sediment cores support this purification process as a major pathway by which 2,3,7,8-TCDD entered the river. [Display omitted] •2,4,5-TCP operations at a former pesticide plant in Newark, NJ, were reviewed.•Waste sludge containing 2,3,7,8-TCDD was discharged to Lower Passaic River (LPR).•Estimated 2,3,7,8-TCDD mass discharge is similar to mass of 2,3,7,8-TCDD in the LPR.•2,3,7,8-TCDD and Cs-137 sediment data support a major discharge pathway to the LPR.•The findings supported this plant as the major source of 2,3,7,8-TCDD to the LPR.

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