Persistent Organic Pollutants in the Dusts That Settled across Lower Manhattan after September 11, 2001

The explosion and collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) was a catastrophic event that produced an aerosol impacting many workers, residents, and commuters during the first few days after September 11, 2001. During the initial days that followed, 14 bulk samples of the settled dust were collected...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2003-02, Vol.37 (3), p.502-508
Main Authors: Offenberg, J. H, Eisenreich, S. J, Chen, L. C, Cohen, M. D, Chee, G, Prophete, C, Weisel, C, Lioy, P. J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aerosols
Air pollution
Aircraft
Applied sciences
Atmospheric pollution
DDT - analysis
Dust
Environmental Exposure
Environmental Monitoring
Environmental Pollutants
Exact sciences and technology
Humans
Hydrocarbons
Insecticides - analysis
New York City
PCB
Pesticides
Pollutants
Pollution
Pollution sources. Measurement results
Polychlorinated biphenyls
Polychlorinated Biphenyls - analysis
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - analysis
Public Health
Terrorism
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The explosion and collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) was a catastrophic event that produced an aerosol impacting many workers, residents, and commuters during the first few days after September 11, 2001. During the initial days that followed, 14 bulk samples of the settled dust were collected at locations surrounding the epicenter of the disaster, including one indoor location. Some samples were analyzed for many potential hazards, including inorganic and organic constituents as well as morphology. The results of the analyses for persistent organic pollutants are described herein, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, and select organochlorine pesticides on settled dust samples. The ∑86-PCBs comprising less than 0.001% by mass of the bulk in the three bulk samples analyzed indicated that PCBs were of limited significance in the total settled dust across lower Manhattan. Likewise, organochlorine pesticides, including chlordanes, hexachlorobenzene, heptachlor, 4,4‘-DDE, 2,4‘-DDT, 4,4‘-DDT, and Mirex, were found at low concentrations in the bulk samples. Conversely, the ∑37-PAHs comprised up to nearly 0.04% (
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/es025730g