Accumulation and Preliminary Inventory of Organochlorines in Great Lakes Sediments

Abstract

Sediment cores from lakes Superior, Michigan, and Ontario were analyzed to establish spatial and temporal concentrations and accumulation rates of PCBs and DDT. In this paper, we report the concentrations and accumulation rates for PCBs and DDT in the three lakes, and provide preliminary estimates of sediment inventories employing corrections for sediment focusing. Estimates of burdens of PCBs in the sediments of lakes Superior, Michigan, and Ontario are ~4900 kg, 75,000 kg, and 110,000 kg, respectively.