Long Island Sound: Distributions, trends, and effects of chemical contamination

Trace metals and organic contaminants concentrations are monitored annually in surface sediments, blue mussel tissue, and winter flounder livers at multiple sites in Long Island Sound by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Status and Trends (NS and T) program for Marine Environmental Quality. The NS and T program is also conducting various studies on the bioeffects of contaminants in the sound. Three years of monitoring results indicate organic and elemental contaminants concentrations in sediments and biota at sites in the western portion of the sound are high on a national scale. Possible decreasing trends in cadmium and chlordane in the second are suggested by the 1986-1988 data for their concentrations in mussels. A comparison between NS and T Mussel Watch results and those of the Environmental Protection Agency's Mussel Watch, conducted from 1976 through 1978, indicated a decadal increase in copper concentrations and a decrease in lead in the sound. Bioeffects studies in the sound have revealed responses in contamination only in localized zones where contaminant levels are very high