Physical behavior of PCBs in the Great Lakes

Abstract

In December 1981, a group of 35 scientists from the United States and Canada met in Toronto for two days to discuss the physical behavior of PCBs in the Great Lakes. This book is a collection of papers, most of which were presented at that meeting. The issue is of obvious importance; PCBs are among the most notorious environmental contaminants and the Great Lakes are invaluable as a resource for fishing, recreation, transport, and as a source of potable water. But the meeting and this text have a deeper purpose. Perhaps from the understanding of the environmental behavior of PCBs in the Great Lakes will come concepts and information that will be valuable in elucidating and controlling the behavior of other contaminants in other aquatic systems. The focus of this book is physical rather than biological, with few exceptions. This focus does not imply a lack of concern for the biosphere or for the effects or toxicology of PCBs; it merely represents an attempt to tackle a smaller problem of manageable proportions. The environmental fate of PCBs is largely controlled by physical processes, with biodegradation of lower chlorine congeners being the outstanding exception.