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Dendrochemical Record of Historical Lead Contamination Sources, Wells G&H Superfund Site, Woburn, Massachusetts
Author(s) -
Burnett Aaron,
Kurtz Andrew C.,
Brabander Daniel,
Shailer Mark
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq2006.0367
Subject(s) - contamination , superfund , gasoline , environmental science , pollution , deposition (geology) , environmental chemistry , isotope analysis , chemistry , geology , hazardous waste , waste management , oceanography , sediment , engineering , ecology , paleontology , organic chemistry , biology
Laser‐ablation inductively coupled‐plasma mass‐spectrometry analysis of red oak ( Quercus rubra ) from a well documented heavy metal contaminated United States Environmental Protection Agency superfund site in Woburn, Massachusetts reveals decade‐long trends in Pb contaminant sources. Lead isotope ratios ( 207 Pb/ 206 Pb and 208 Pb/ 206 Pb) in tree rings plot along a linear trend bracketed by several local and regional contamination sources. Statistically significant interannual variations in 207 Pb/ 206 Pb suggest that atmospheric Pb is rapidly incorporated into wood, with minimal mobility subsequent to deposition in annual growth rings. We interpret the decadal trends in our record as a changing mixture of local pollution sources and gasoline‐derived Pb. Between 1940 and 1970, Pb was predominantly derived from remobilization of local industrial Pb sources. An abrupt shift in 207 Pb/ 206 Pb may indicate that local Pb sources were overwhelmed by gasoline‐derived Pb during the peak of leaded gasoline emissions in the late 1960s and early 1970s.