Chemical contamination of the Hudson-Raritan Estuary as a result of the attack on the World Trade Center: analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorinated biphenyls in mussels and sediment.

The September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) resulted in a massive plume of dust and smoke that blanketed lower Manhattan and part of the Hudson-Raritan Estuary (HRE). The NOAA National Status and Trends Mussel Watch Program has long-term monitoring sites in the area and thus had an opportunity to assess the effect of the WTC attack on PAH and PCB contamination of the surrounding estuary. Seven additional sites were added in the Upper HRE to attain higher sampling resolution for comparison with regularly sampled Mussel Watch Project HRE sites. Elevated background levels of PCBs and PAHs in mussel tissue and sediments were high enough before the WTC attack that concentrations were not measurably changed by WTC derived contaminant input.