Abstract
The concentration distribution of hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD), pentachloro-benzene (QCB), hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and octachlorostyrene (OCS) in water samples from transects across the upper and lower St. Clair River and the upper Detroit River were determined on four occasions in 1985. The data show a plume of these contaminants from the Sarnia industrial area. The fluxes and concentration profiles of the contaminants at Port Lambton have been modelled success fully using a simple transverse mixing model. A study on the chemical partitioning between the “dissolved” and “suspended sediment” phases shows that an important contaminant fraction is carried in the river by the suspended solids, particularly for lipophilie compounds such as HCB and OCS,