Toxaphene and other organochlorine compounds in air and water at Resolute Bay, N.W.T., Canada

Chlorinated bornanes (CHBs, e.g. toxaphene) and other organochlorine (OC) pesticides were measured in air and surface water at Resolute Bay, N.W.T., during August 1992 to determine summertime levels in the Arctic and the net direction of air-sea gas exchange. Mean concentrations in air (pg/m3) were: hexachlorocyclohexanes (α-HCH + γ-HCH) = 124, CHBs = 6.9, endosulfan I = 4.0, chlordanes + nonachlors = 2.8 andp,p′-DDT < 0.3. OCs in seawater (pg/l) were: HCHs = 5100, CHBs = 48, chlordanes + nonachlors = 14 andp,p′-DDE = 1.0. One sample from Amituk Lake on Cornwallis Island yielded levels of CHBs 3 times higher and HCHs 3 times lower than respective levels in Resolute Bay. Chlordanes in the two waters were approximately the same. Chromatographic profiles of CHBs in air and water were skewed toward the lower molecular weight components of toxaphene. The octa- and nonachlorobornanes (designated as T2 and T12), which strongly accumulate in fish, marine mammals and human milk, were also found in air and water. Atmospheric concentrations of γ-HCH andcis-chlordane in surface seawater were close to Henryʹs Law equilibrium. CHBs were undersaturated, indicating a potential for air-to-sea transfer. Alpha-HCH andtrans-chlordane were oversaturated, implying volatilization. Differences among these OCs might be explained in part by temporal variations in their atmospheric concentrations.