Benthic and tissue toxin data from stations in U.S. coastal waters from 1984-01-01 to 1989-12-31 (NCEI Accession 9300199)

The accession contains Benthic and Tissue toxin data from stations in U.S. coastal waters (Coastal Waters of Western U.S. and North American Coastline-North) collected under the National Status and Trends (NS&T) program from 1984-1989. NS&T program for marine environmental quality was designed to define the geographic distribution of contaminant concentrations in tissues of marine organisms and sediments, and documenting biological responses to contamination.

Samples have been collected under the original Benthic Surveillance Project (sediment and tissue samples from benthic fish) since 1984. Samples have been collected under the Mussel Watch Project (sediment and bivalves) since 1986. Both programs involved collecting samples from fixed sites on both Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Sites were selected so as not to be in close proximity to a major contamination source, as the programs objective was to quantify contamination over general areas. Chemical data from sediments collected during the benthic surveillance project, 1984-1986, is contained in a single delimited ASCII file (bssed.txt). Additional contaminated sediment data from the mussel watch program, 1986-1989, is contained in a single delimited ASCII file (mwsed.txt). These data do not include tissue analysis for contaminants. Chemicals and related parameters measured in sediments include: DDT.

Since 1986, NOAA'S NS&T Program has included a component called the mussel watch project that has annually collected and chemically analyzed mussels and oysters from 177 sites at coastal and estuarine sites. Tissue samples from these mollusks have been analyzed to establish temporal trends of contaminant accumulation. Contaminants analyzed during this project include: polyaromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, chlorinated pesticides (such as DDT and its metabolites), aluminum, iron, manganese, silicon, other trace elements, and lipids. Tissue contaminant data from the mussel watch project, years 1986-1989, is contained in a single wordperfect 4.2 file, mollto90.txt. A second file, tbt_90.txt, lists the sum of concentrations of tributyltin and its breakdown products (dibutyltin and monobutyltin) found in bivalve tissue samples. Tributyltin (TBT) was previously used as an antifouling agent in paints, but its use on vessels under 75 feet was banned in 1988. A third file, mwsiteyr.txt, lists collection sites.