Source Apportionment of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in the Tidal Delaware River

Abstract

The Delaware River, similar to many surface water bodies throughout the United States, is impaired due to polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations that exceed the federal water quality standard. A total maximum daily load (TMDL) for PCBs in the Delaware was promulgated in 2003 after construction of a detailed water quality model that relied upon estimated PCB loadings from sources such as wastewater treatment plant effluents, contaminated sites, and tributaries. The purpose of this project was to corroborate this loading estimate by analyzing ambient water column data on PCB concentrations in the Delaware River via positive matrix factorization (PMF) in order to identify covarying congener patterns that are, in theory, associated with sources. The PMF program identified six factors (covarying congener patterns) that appear to be associated with sources, such as sediment resuspension, contaminated sites, and wastewater effluents and combined sewer overflows (CSOs). PCB 11 was found to be a useful tracer for CSO/ wastewater inputs despite the fact that no known dye manufacturers exist in the watershed. This analysis generally corroborates the PCB loading estimate used in the water quality model.