Chlorinated C 1 and C 2 hydrocarbons in the marine environment

Abstract

A range of chlorinated hydrocarbons derived from C 1 and C 2 hydrocarbons is manufactured industrially. They are used as intermediates for further chemical manufacture and also outside the chemical industry as solvents or carriers. In the latter category losses in use are eventually dispersed to the environment. The distribution of some of these compounds, including chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene and trichloroethane, in the environment (air, water and marine sediments) has been investigated and the results are presented. The concentrations found have been compared with acute toxicity levels to fish and other aquatic organisms, ascertained by laboratory bioassay. The occurrence of the compounds has been determined in a number of marine organisms, especially those at higher trophic levels, and the accumulation of some of them has been investigated in the laboratory. Chemical and microbial degradation processes have been studied in the laboratory to help determine the course of their removal from the aqueous and aerial environment, and the half lives of some of the compounds have been estimated. It is concluded that these compounds are not persistent in the environment, and that there is no significant bioaccumulation in marine food chains.