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Tracing Kepone Contamination In James Estuary Sediments, Maynard M. Nichols, Norman H. Cutshall

VIMS Articles

The escape of Kepone into the James River estuary, Virginia, for more than nine years produced widespread contamination of the sediments with important ecological consequences. The pollutant extended seaward more than 100 km from its source and contaminated an estimated 31 million tonnes of sediment to depths of more than 60 cm. Kepone spread through the food chain and to every segment of the environment from marshes to the channel floor.

Kepone escaped mainly during high river inflow from a point source in freshwater tributaries. Near the source Kepone is associated with organic material but in the low er estuary …