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ORGANIC COMPOUNDS AND TRACE ELEMENTS IN FISH TISSUE AND BED SEDIMENT, YELLOWSTONE RIVER BASIN, 1998
By David A. Peterson and Gregory K. Boughton
U.S. Geological Survey, WRD
2617 E. Lincolnway
Cheyenne, Wyo. 82001
A comprehensive water-quality investigation of the Yellowstone River basin began in 1997, under the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. Twenty-four sites were selected for sampling of fish tissue and bed sediment during 1998. Organic compounds analyzed included organochlorine pesticide compounds and total PCB from fish-tissue and bed-sediment samples, and semivolatile organic compounds from bed sediment. A broad suite of trace elements was analyzed from both fish-tissue and bed-sediment samples, and a special study related to mercury in both media also was conducted.
Of the 12 organochlorine insecticides and their metabolites detected in the fish-tissue samples, the most compounds per site were detected in samples from streams draining areas of mixed land use. The presence of DDT, and its metabolites DDD and DDE, in fish collected in the Yellowstone Park area likely reflects long-term residual effects from historical DDT-spraying programs for spruce budworm. Dieldrin, chlordane, and metabolites of chlordane also were detected in the fish-tissue samples. Only two of the 27 organochlorine pesticide compounds and total PCB analyzed in bed sediment were detected. Compared with 12 of the same compounds detected in fish-tissue samples, fish appeared to be more sensitive indicators of contamination than bed sediment.
Concentrations of some trace elements in fish and bed sediment were higher at sites in mineralized areas than at other sites. Concentrations of mercury and selenium in fish tissue from some sites were above background levels or were at levels associated with adverse effects to fish or human health. Concentrations of arsenic, chromium, copper, and lead in some of the bed-sediment samples exceeded criteria for the protection of aquatic life.
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