Dechlorination of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins in the watershed of the New York/New Jersey harbor
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Dewani, Yashika.
Dechlorination of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins in the watershed of the New York/New Jersey harbor. Retrieved from
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TitleDechlorination of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins in the watershed of the New York/New Jersey harbor
Date Created2016
Other Date2016-10 (degree)
Extent1 online resource (xii, 88 p. : ill.)
DescriptionIn this work, data from the Contamination Assessment and Reduction Project (CARP) was used to investigate the dechlorination of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and –furans (PCDD/Fs) in the watershed of the New York/New Jersey Harbor. Preliminary investigations using CARP data suggested that peri dechlorination of PCDD/Fs occurs in sewer systems. However, the peri-lateral dechlorination pathway is more environmentally important since it can remove chlorines in the lateral (2,3,7,8) positions, resulting in products that are considered to be non-toxic. The original CARP data set contains information on concentrations of the 17 2,3,7,8-substituted PCDD/F congeners, so that products of peri-lateral dechlorination were not measured. However, during the analysis of these 17 congeners, the data was generated to measure other non-2,3,7,8-substituted congeners that could be products of peri-lateral dechlorination. In this work, the archived chromatograms were retrieved from the contract laboratory that conducted the original analysis, and a data set was built containing the concentrations of all of the tetra- through octa- chlorinated PCDD/F congeners. This new data set was analyzed to discern further evidence that PCDD/Fs are dechlorinated in sewers via the peri-lateral pathway that can result in complete elimination of toxicity. In the first chapter of this thesis, the concentrations of PCDD/Fs within the data set were examined for trends. Results suggested that dechlorination occurred in landfills. The second chapter utilized Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) analysis on the same data set in an attempt to provide further evidence that PCDD/Fs are dechlorinated in these systems. When compared to EPA’s published 2,3,7,8-congener patterns, the sources of PCDD/Fs in the Harbor were identified as: bleached chemical wood pulp and paper mills (1% total mass of data set), wood combustion (3%), Kraft black liquid recovery boilers (4%), and diesel trucks (92%). However, when compared to the New York Academy of Sciences Dioxin report, these results were deemed inaccurate because they did not align with the major PCDD/F sources into the Harbor as represented by the literature.
NoteM.S.
NoteIncludes bibliographical references
Noteby Yashika Dewani
Genretheses, ETD graduate
Languageeng
CollectionGraduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Organization NameRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
RightsThe author owns the copyright to this work.
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