STATUS OF THE HABITAT: CHEMICAL CONSIDERATIONS 
Organic Chemistry 
by 
Dr. Paul Boehm 
Battelle New England Marine Research Laboratory 
Duxbury, MA 
I would like to thank the previous speakers who have really set the stage for a 
general overview of the chemical status of the Boston Harbor/Massachusetts Bay habitat. 
I will be presenting our findings on toxic organic chemical compounds in the region and 
Gordon Wallace will be talking next, primarily about the metals results. 
In recent years, it has become increasingly apparent that the concentrations of toxic 
compounds in coastal marine systems not only represent indicators of the health of a 
system, but also affect the use and value of marine resources. These toxic compounds 
affect the value of marine resources directly through increases in body burdens, increases 
which may result in body burden levels approaching maximum levels set by the U.S. Food 
and Drug Administration (FDA) for harvesting marine resources. Toxic compounds also 
affect marine resources indirectly through their presence in the habitat (e.g., in the 
sediments) which in turn affect the ecosystem, and individual animal's health. The 
polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination in New Bedford Harbor, Massachusetts, a 
marine Superfund site, and the effects of the contamination on the resources in Buzzards 
Bay is a well-known case study for a direct effect where the lobster resources have been 
closed due to high levels in tissue. The case of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) 
contamination in Puget Sound embayments and its probable impact on the health of 
marine animals exemplifies an indirect effect. Similar linkages between toxic compound 
abundances and environmental health are strongly suggested by recent chemical and 
histopathological studies in Boston Harbor. This afternoon, Dr. Murchelano will expand 
much more on this latter topic. 
This morning I would like to summarize the results of recent studies on toxic organic 
compounds in the sediments of Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay. Sediments are mid- 
to long-term integrators of pollutant inputs, and, therefore, may be used as indicators of 
general environmental health. I am going to place these findings in perspective vis-a-vis 
other areas and relate these findings to possible impacts on the overall health of the 
system. After I summarize what is known, I would like to equally highlight how little we 
really do know about the system on which to base sound management decisions. 
PCBs and PAHs are two classes of toxic organic compounds which have received a 
great deal of attention. They are by no means the whole toxic contaminant "story" in any 
system, but I will be focusing primarily on those compounds as leading indicators of toxic 
contaminant problems. 
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