Trace organic and heavy metal pollutants in the Mississippi River

A study was conducted to characterize and measure organic and heavy metal pollutants in the Mississippi River. Water samples were collected along the entire length of the river, and were screened for semivolatile organics by capillary GC and for heavy metals by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Four water samples were further examined for semivolatile organics by capillary GC/MS. Eight heavy metals and more than sixty distinct organic chemicals were identified including alkylbenzenes, various halogenated organics, five herbicides or derivatives, plasticizers, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), saturated hydrocarbons, and three miscellaneous organics. All organic compounds were detected at the parts-per-trillion (pptr) level. In spite of the limited nature of the sampling effort, the large number of data derived from this study suggests the need for a more rigorous monitoring of the river for a wide spectrum of chemical pollutants.