Document Type
Postprint
Publication Date
7-31-2025
Journal / Book Title
Environmental Forensics
Abstract
The 2.5 km long Gowanus Canal (Brooklyn, NY, USA) is a severely contaminated urban waterway dating from the mid-19th century, listed as a US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Superfund site since 2010. Applying an environmental forensics approach to the extensive USEPA data set, we detect systematic variations in parent PAH ring number distributions in the canal sediments, as well as an extraordinary enrichment in organic carbon. We subjected a supplemental sample set to a more detailed analysis by quantitative pyrolysis-GC-MS, Rock-Eval pyrolysis, and organic petrology. With these sensitive methods, we can confirm the alkyl-PAH fingerprint of coal tar (a legacy of former manufactured gas plants along the canal), the presence of coal (bituminous and anthracite) and coal combustion products, and the steroid and fatty acid signatures of raw sewage effluent. The latter compels us to emphasize the urgency of controlling the continuing input from combined sewer overflow events following rainstorms, besides remediating the legacy coal tar contamination that provoked its Superfund designation. As an addition to the environmental forensic toolbox, for complexly-contaminated sites we recommend a rapid Rock-Eval (or equivalent) bulk pyrolysis pre-screening of numerous core and surface samples from the suspect locale, followed by pyrolysis-GC-MS for molecular-level screening of a representative sub-set.
DOI
10.1080/15275922.2025.2539676
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Journal ISSN / Book ISBN
1527-5930
MSU Digital Commons Citation
Kruge, Michael A.; Olsen, Kevin K.; Stern, Eric A; Mastalerz, Maria; and Permanyer, Albert, "Highly Contaminated Sediments from the Gowanus Canal (New York) Superfund Site: An Environmental Forensic Approach" (2025). Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works. 726.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/earth-environ-studies-facpubs/726
Published Citation
Kruge, M. A., Olsen, K. K., Stern, E. A., Mastalerz, M., & Permanyer, A. (2025). Highly Contaminated Sediments from the Gowanus Canal (New York) Superfund Site: An Environmental Forensic Approach. Environmental Forensics. https://doi.org/10.1080/15275922.2025.2539676
Included in
Analytical Chemistry Commons, Environmental Chemistry Commons, Environmental Health and Protection Commons, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons, Environmental Monitoring Commons, Forensic Chemistry Commons, Geochemistry Commons, Sedimentology Commons
Comments
Pyrolysis-GC-MS analysis of only ten samples revealed the nature of the contaminants present at a level of granular detail unrecognized via the conventional analysis of nearly eight hundred. Requiring only a small amount of sample, with no pre-extraction and work-up using hazardous solvents, the Py-GC-MS method is in essence a "green chemistry" approach, delivering a rich organic molecular data set while saving time. It is thus appropriate for a sediment contamination screening exercise. In addition to being a useful means for a non-targeted survey of sites where sediment contamination is suspected, quantitative pyrolysis-GC-MS performs quite well in a targeted evaluation of PAHs.
Py-GC-MS effectively discriminates between the two major organic contaminant types afflicting Gowanus Canal sediments — the "biological" component (sewage, FOG) and the "fossil" (dominantly coal tar), along with a general "urban" background (with petroleum, combustion, and vegetation sources). At the outset, our initial target compounds were only the parent and alkylated PAHs along with petroleum biomarkers. However, the complexity of the resulting data also manifested the surprising importance of the biologically-sourced pollutants. Our results compel us to emphasize the urgency of controlling the continuing sewage input from CSO events, in addition to the ongoing remediation of the legacy coal tar contamination now underway.