Abstract
In 1985, sampling at 250 stations throughout the St. Marys, St. Clair, and Detroit rivers and Lake St. Clair — the connecting channels of the upper Great Lakes — revealed widespread metal contamination of the sediments. Concentrations of cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, and zinc each exceeded U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sediment pollution guidelines at one or more stations throughout the study area. Sediments were polluted more frequently by copper, nickel, zinc, and lead than by cadmium, chromium, or mercury. Sediments with the highest concentrations of metals were found (in descending order) in the Detroit River, the St. Marys River, the St. Clair River, and Lake St. Clair. Although metal contamination of sediments was most common and sediment concentrations of metals were generally highest near industrial areas, substantial contamination of sediments by metals was present in sediment deposition areas up to 60 km from any known source of pollution.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bertram, P., T. Edsall, B. Manny, S. Nichols & D. Schloesser, 1985. Physical and chemical characteristics of sediments in the upper Great Lakes connecting channels, 1985. U.S. Env. Protect. Agency Tech. Rep., Chicago, Illinois. In Press.
Edsall, T. A., B. A. Manny & C. N. Raphael, 1988. The St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair, Michigan: an ecological profile. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. Biol. Rep. 85(7.3). 130 pp.
EC & USEPA (Environment Canada & U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), 1988. Upper Great Lakes connecting channels study. Final report. Volume II. U.S. Env. Protect. Agency, Chicago, Illinois. 626 pp.
Environmental Control Technology Corporation, 1974. Water Pollution Investigation: Detroit and St. Clair Rivers. U.S. Env. Protect. Agency, Rep. No. EPA/905/974–013), Ann Arbor, Michigan. 361 pp.
Fallon, M. & F. Horvath, 1985. Preliminary assessment of contaminants in soft sediments of the Detroit River. J. Great Lakes Res. 11(3): 373–378.
GLWQB (Great Lakes Water Quality Board), 1983. Report on Great Lakes Water Quality; Appendix A: Areas of Concern in the Great Lakes Basin; 1983 Update of Class A areas. Rep. to Internat. Joint Commiss. 113 pp.
Hamdy, Y. & L. Post, 1985. Distribution of mercury, trace organics, and other heavy metals in Detroit River sediments. J. Great Lakes Res. 11(3): 353–365.
International Joint Commission, 1982. Guidelines and register for evaluation of Great Lakes dredging projects. 365 pp.
Jarrell-Ash, 1979. Mark III Atomcomp interim operator's manual. Jarrell-Ash Division, Fisher Scientific Co., Waltham, Massachusetts. March 1979, M 79–1.
Limno-Tech, 1985. Summary of the existing status of the upper Great Lakes -connecting channels data. Prepared for: Upper Great Lakes Connecting Channels Study. Limno-Tech, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan. 159 pp.
Mudroch A., 1985. Geochemistry of the Detroit River sediment. J. Great Lakes Res. 11(3): 193–200.
Mudroch, A., L. Sarazin & T. Lomas, 1988. Summary of surface and background concentrations of selected elements in the Great Lakes sediments. J. Great Lakes Res. 14(2): 241–251.
Ontario Ministry of the Environment, 1979. St. Clair River organics study; biological surveys, 1968 and 1977. Ont. Min. Nat. Resour., Wat. Resour. Assess. Unit, Toronto, Ontario. 90 pp.
Plumb, R. H. Jr., (ed.), 1981. Procedures for handling chemical analyses of sediment and water samples. Technical Report EPA/CE-81–1. Prepared by Great Lakes Laboratory, State University College at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, for USEPA/CORPS Technical Committee on Criteria for Dredged or Fill Material. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi. 386 pp.
Thomas, R., J. Jaquet & A. Mudroch, 1975. Sedimentation processes and associated changes in surface sediment trace metal concentrations in Lake St. Clair, 1970–1974. Internat. Conf. Heavy Metals Env., Toronto, Ontario, October 27–31, 1975. pp. 691–708.
Thornley, S. & Y. Hamdy, 1984. An assessment of the bottom fauna and sediments of the Detroit River. Ont. Min. Env. Tech. Rep. ISBN. 0–7743–8474–3. February. 48 pp.
USEPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), 1979. Simultaneous analysis of liquid samples for metals by inductively coupled argon plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICAP-AES). U.S. Env. Protect. Agency, Region V, Chicago, Illinois. Unpublished.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Contribution 735 of the National Fisheries Research Center-Great Lakes, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1451 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nichols, S.J., Manny, B.A., Schloesser, D.W. et al. Heavy metal contamination of sediments in the Upper Connecting Channels of the Great Lakes. Hydrobiologia 219, 307–315 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00024763
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00024763