Quantification of Octachlorostyrene and Related Compounds in Great Lakes Fish by Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry

Residues of octachlorostyrene (OCS) and related polychlorinated compounds including isomers of heptachloro-, hexachloro-, and pentachlorostyrene; hexachlorobenzene, pentachlorobenzene, isomers of tetrachloro- and trichlorobenzene; and hexachlorobutadiene have been quantitated by multiple-ion-detection gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in Great Lakes fish collected between 1974 and 1980. The results show that the two upper lakes, Superior and Michigan, do not appear to have residues of OCS greater than 5 ng/g, while residues in the lower lakes, Huron, Ontario, and Erie, are as high as 400 ng/g. A selected tributary to Lake Erie has been shown to contain very high levels of all of the chemicals studied which suggests one possible source of chlorostyrenes in the Great Lakes.