Polychlorinated biphenyl pollution caused by resuspension of surface sediments in the lagoon of Venice.

A mechanical device was used to reproduce in the laboratory the sediment resuspension caused by tidal currents and wind waves in the lagoon of Venice. Shear stresses comparable to those observed in the field were applied to the sediment surface. Series of experiments were run at 6.6 and 9.0 dyn/cm2. The concentration of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were determined in the sediments and resuspended particulate matter by means of gas chromatographic techniques. At the two different stresses, particulate matter with different grain size and different concentrations of PCBs was resuspended. However, no significant differences were observed in the amounts of PCBs mobilized per litre of water. In fact, by increasing the applied stress, coarser particulate matter was resuspended with a lower concentration of PCBs per unit of dry weight.