Surface-water quality assessment of the Yakima River Basin, Washington:Pesticide, Other Trace-organic compound data for Water, Sediment, Soil, and Aquatic Biota

Contaminant data assessed in a variety of media (water, suspended and
bed sediment, soil, and aquatic biota) were presented for samples
collected from the Yakima River Basin between 1987 and 1990. The
assessment was conducted as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's
National Water Quality Assessment Program which was designed to
describe the status and trends in the Nation's ground and surface
water resources. For this study; water, sediments, molluscs, aquatic
plants, fish, and crayfish were analyzed for organochlorine
pesticides, total PCBs, and semi-volatile organics.

The area of study was the Yakima River Basin.

Samples were wet seived using stainless-steel sieves (2-mm, 180-5m,
and 62-5m openings) and the resulting size classes were chilled with
ice. All sample containers were oven-baked and lids consisted of
either Teflon or oven-baked aluminum foil inserts. Samples from 26
samples were individually processed and samples from 32 stations were
composited into seven samples.

Analytical techniques included EPA Method 8080 (U.S. EPA 1986) for
organochlorine compounds, Wershaw et al. (1983,1987) modified for
semi-volatile organics. Data are reported on a dry weight basis. The
method for determining total PCBs was not described in the report.

The information for this metadata was taken from the Columbia River
Basin: Sediment Database Abstracts.