Figure 1.

(A) PCB congener profile of Altavista sediment (previously determined).³³ For ease of reference, a condensed profile of individual PCB congeners is shown along the horizontal axis although all 209 congeners (minus surrogate and internal standards) were measured. The condensed profile represents congeners ≥2% of the total profile, by mass fraction, in either PUF or SPME samples at any time point in any treatment. (B) PCB congener profile detected in the headspace of bioreactors using PUF passive samplers. Values shown are from the saponin-free sediment control group. Mass fractions of mono- and dichlorinated congeners trend lower or remain level as the relative contribution of more slowly desorbing tri-, tetra-, and pentachlorobiphenyls trends higher with time. (C) Congener profile of freely dissolved PCBs detected in the aqueous compartment of the bioreactors using SPME passive samplers. T = 3 days samples capture LC-PCBs that rapidly desorbed from sediment before volatilizing to air whereas later samples capture the more slowly desorbing tri-, tetra-, and pentachlorobiphenyls that are still entering solution or have reached dynamic equilibrium. The error bars represent the standard error of triplicate measurements (n = 3; except where otherwise indicated).