Track down survey of PCBs in three tributaries to the Niagara River Area of Concern (AOC)

Background

Industrial discharges of toxic and bio-accumulating compounds to the Niagara River and its tributaries have occurred over many decades. High concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been found in samples of fish tissue from many locations, including three tributaries to the Niagara River: Tonawanda Creek, Two mile Creek, and Rattlesnake Creek (study reaches listed in Table 1).

High PCB concentrations have also been found in mussel tissues during in situ experiments in the latter two creeks PCBs have been detected in sediments from many locations, but they were generally lower than expected given the elevated PCB concentrations recently observed in fish and mussel tissues from selected sites in the three tributaries. Local sources of PCB contamination in each tributary generally remain unknown, but probable sources need to be isolated/identified to help define appropriate management and (or) remediation actions.

To help pinpoint likely sources of PCBs, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation  (NYSDEC) propose to determine PCB concentrations in water from as many as 12 sites in each of the three tributaries to the Niagara River, using semi-permeable membrane devices (SPMDs) deployed during two rounds.

Table 1. Identification codes, descriptions, and coordinates for 29 study locations in Rattlesnake Creek, Two mile Creek, and Tonawanda Creek.

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The main objective of this study is to gather data needed to help isolate/identify specific sources of PCBs in the three tributaries. Such information will be used to direct efforts to reduce PCB contamination and to, along with other lines of evidence, determine if associated  beneficial use impairments (BUIs) in the Niagara River Area of Concern (AOC) could be removed.

Approach

Staff from the Columbia Environmental Research Center (CERC) will construct the SPMDs and provide installation training to staff from the USGS New York Water Science Center (NYWSC), who will place SPMDs at 5 locations in Rattlesnake Creek, 12 locations in Two mile Creek, and 12 locations in Tonawanda Creek for approximately 1 month during the initial sampling round in fall 2018; and as many as 25 SPMDs will be installed again in spring 2019 after assessing results from the fall sampling. Specific sample-site locations will be directed by NYSDEC staff and reflect locations where PCB hotspots were evident (based on data from prior samples) or suspected (based on historic outfalls or permitted dischargers). Installation will be done by wading where possible (e.g., Two mile Creek and Rattlesnake Creek) and from a small boat in Tonawanda Creek. Staff from CERC will process the samplers, analyze samples for PCB congeners (Table 2), and estimate water concentrations for PCBs. Detection limits will vary depending on field conditions and deployment time; but are generally in the picogram/liter (pg/L) range. Quality control samples will include laboratory blanks, 6 field blanks, and replicate samples done at 2 or 3 sites. The second round of sampling will take place at 20 to 25 sites in early 2019 to more tightly refine the source of any PCB hotspots identified during the first round. All data from both sampling rounds will be made available to the NYSDEC and USEPA after validation as a USGS web-based (public) Data Release and as original data via the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS).

The initial round SPMD deployments will be in fall 2018 for approximately 1 month; it is expected that draft data for these samples will be available within 3 months of SPMD collection. Provisional chemistry data from the initial round of sampling will be used to guide the follow-up round of sampling, which is planned for spring 2019. Provisional chemistry data from the second round of sampling should be available within 3 months of SPMD collection. All chemistry data from both sampling rounds should be validated and analyzed, and the draft USGS Data Release prepared, by fall 2019. Internal peer reviews for technical, editorial, administrative, and metadata review may take an additional month or two.

Table 2. List of PCB congeners that will be analyzed from the SPMDs by the CERC.

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The preparation of SPMDs, SPMD deployment, and analysis of chemical constituents will follow published methods (Alvarez 2010; Alvarez et al. 2008; Gale 2007) and established SOPs developed by CERC. Data validation will be conducted by CERC's Environmental Chemistry Branch Chief and the quality assurance (QA) Specialist. Raw data will be archived on CERC's network servers and finalized data and accompanying metadata will be part of a public (USGS-ScienceBase) Data Release.

Deliverables will take the form of a USGS-ScienceBase Data Release, that will include metadata describing SPMD sampling locations, dates and durations, methods of collection and analysis, and final chemistry data for each SPMD sample that was collected. Original data from all SPMD will be archived in the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS). Both the Data Release and NWIS data will be freely available to the public.

Project Location by County 

Erie County, NY, Niagara County, NY