Toxics Problems in the Delaware Estuary Today

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Toxics Problems in theDelaware Estuary Today
Thomas J. Fikslin
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History

• Renewed interest in the effect of toxic
  pollutants discharged to the estuary occurred in
  the late 1980s as a consequence of
• The implementation of the Clean Water Act
  Amendments of 1987, and
• The results of the studies conducted under the
  Delaware Estuary Use Attainability Project.
• Based upon fish tissue data collected by the DRBC
  and states, fish consumption advisories from the
  DE/PA border to Trenton were issued in 1988 and
  1989.

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History (cont.)

• In 1989, the DRBC initiated the Estuary Toxics
  Management Program to develop
• Uniform water quality criteria for the tidal
  river portion of the estuary, and
• Wasteload allocations for point sources where
  criteria are exceeded.

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Toxic Pollutants Requiring WLAs

• Acute Aquatic Life Protection
• Metals
• Whole Effluent Toxicity
• Chronic Aquatic Life Protection
• Copper
• Zinc
• Whole Effluent Toxicity

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Toxic Pollutants Requiring WLAs

• Protection of Human Health
• Volatile Organic Chemicals
• 1,2 - Dichloroethane
• Tetrachloroethene
• Trichloroethene
• PCBs
• DDT metabolites

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Contaminant Trends in Fish Tissue

• The Commission currently monitors two fish
  species at 5 locations in the tidal river.
• Standard filets are analyzed for PCBs,
  chlorinated pesticides and metals.
• The program was initiated in 1991 however,
  samples were also collected at 7 locations
  between Easton and Deepwater in 1990.

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Average PCB ConcentrationsDelaware River Estuary
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Average DDT MetaboliteConcentrationsDelaware
River Estuary
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What are the Sources of PCBs DDTs?

• Possible sources of PCBs and chlorinated
  pesticides are
• Sediments in both the mainstem and tidal portion
  of the tributaries.
• Illegal disposal through wastewater treatment
  systems.
• Tributary loadings to the estuary.
• Hazardous waste sites.

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PCB Sediment ConcentrationsDelaware River Estuary
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PCB Loadings to the Estuary

• The Commission and Delaware DNREC recently
  completed a dry and wet weather survey of 10
  tributaries and 6 municipal wastewater treatment
  plant discharges.
• Wastewater influent samples were also collected
  during the wet weather survey as a surrogate for
  sampling combined sewer overflows.

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PCB ConcentrationsDelaware Estuary Tributaries
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PCB ConcentrationsWastewater Plant Influents
1510 ng/l
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PCB ConcentrationsWastewater Plant Effluents
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Future Initiatives

• The DRBC and state agencies are cooperating to
  establish wasteload allocations and permit
  limitations for point sources as part of Phase 1
  of a TMDL for the Delaware Estuary.
• In Phase 2 of the TMDL process, sources of PCBs
  and chlorinated pesticides are being identified
  with the goal of establishing wasteload and load
  allocations for these pollutants.

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Fish Consumption Advisories

• The participants in the Toxics Breakout session
  at the last Coordinating Conference agreed that
  there was a need to coordinate the advisories
  issued by the three states.
• The Toxics Advisory Committee has unanimously
  voted to recommend that Actions T6.1 and T6.6 be
  elevated in priority, and that the program
  facilitate the dissemination of existing
  advisories.