US EPA

2200170 

Technical Report 

Chlorinated hydrocarbons in sea-surface films and subsurface waters at nearshore stations and in the north central Pacific gyre 

Williams, PM; Robertson, KJ 

1975 

PESTAB/76/1117 

Bull 

2 

445-447; 1975 

PESTAB. Electron capture gas chromatography was used to determine the content of P,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDE, and PCBs in surface films collected at coastal stations off southern California and Mexico, and in surface films, subsurface waters, and particulate matter from the North Central Pacific Gyre. In the North Central Pacific Gyre, the DDT concentration in the surface films and subsurface waters was always less than 0.03 ng/liter, while the PCB content was two orders of magnitude higher. The PCB concentration in the surface films was significantly higher than that in the subsurface waters. In the California and Mexico coastal waters, the PCB and DDT concentrations in the surface films were on the order of 11-90 ng/l and less than 0.03-15.4 ng/l, respectively. These values are slightly higher than those previously reported for the 1-2 m subsurface waters of the near-shore California Current.