A mass-balance approach for assessing PCB movement during remediation of a PCB-contaminated deposit on the Fox River, Wisconsin

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, collected water samples during the September 1 - December 15, 1999 removal of sediment contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from a reach of the Lower Fox River designated Sediment Management Unit (SMU) 56/57. Results of analyses of the samples, along with monitoring activities of several other organizations, were used to delineate and compare PCB mass pathways during the cleanup effort (fig. 1). Results indicate that the cleanup at SMU 56/57 had the following effect on PCB mass: dredging permanently removed more than 650 kg (1441 lb) of PCBs, transported 14.5 kg (32 lb) downstream, and volatilized 2.6 kg (5.7 lb) to the atmosphere; associated activities on the shore returned 0.1 kg (0.3 lb) to the river. This report documents the USGS data-collection efforts and details the mass-balance approach for PCB pathway delineation.