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Chemical Composition of Bed Sediment and Water Samples Collected in the Houston Ship Channel or Patrick Bayou outlet near the Patrick Bayou Superfund Site, Deer Park, Texas, 2021

Metadata Updated: July 6, 2024

Patrick Bayou, a section of the Houston Ship Channel near Deer Park, Texas, has accumulated permitted industrial wastewater discharges, municipal wastewater treatment plant effluent, and stormwater runoff from adjacent industrial facilities and nearby urban and residential areas. These discharges are suspected to be the primary sources of the sediment contamination in the Patrick Bayou section of the Houston Ship Channel near Deer Park, Texas. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) placed Patrick Bayou on the Superfund program’s National Priorities List because of sediment contamination detected in the wetlands bordering Patrick Bayou, posing a threat to downstream fisheries. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with EPA, collected sediment cores and surface water samples from pre-selected locations at the Patrick Bayou outlet and along the Houston Ship Channel to gain a better understanding of the nature and extent of sediment and surface water contaminants. The USGS collected sediment samples from five locations in the study area in January 2021. The USGS revisited the study area in October 2021 and collected sediment samples from 14 locations and water samples from five locations. An EPA-designated laboratory analyzed the sediment and surface water samples for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs, including congeners and aroclors), dioxin and furan compounds, trace elements (including mercury and lead), and total organic carbon (TOC). VOCs, SVOCs, and aroclors were analyzed by Pace Analytical Services in West Columbia, South Carolina. PCB congeners as well as dioxin and furan compounds were analyzed by Cape Fear Analytical in Wilmington, North Carolina. Trace elements were analyzed by Bonner Analytical Testing in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and TOC were analyzed by the USGS National Water Quality Laboratory in Denver, Colorado. Sediment samples were also analyzed for cesium-137 by ALS Environmental in Ft. Collins, Colo. The dataset includes the results from these analyses of the sediment and water samples.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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Dates

Metadata Created Date June 1, 2023
Metadata Updated Date July 6, 2024

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI EDI

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date June 1, 2023
Metadata Updated Date July 6, 2024
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
@Id http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/d629ca8289e285238611fc43088069db
Identifier USGS:627eb532d34e3bef0c9a2f05
Data Last Modified 20230213
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://datainventory.doi.gov/data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id 7254b477-89ab-406f-9ebf-4ccc401a5399
Harvest Source Id 52bfcc16-6e15-478f-809a-b1bc76f1aeda
Harvest Source Title DOI EDI
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial -95.14915,29.71728,-95.09027,29.75506
Publisher Hierarchy White House > U.S. Department of the Interior > U.S. Geological Survey
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 4efda630a0f5d38d4b373b0bd344ed1b55c5ed761264e2d1c8a4aef3a7dc13b0
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": -95.14915, 29.71728, -95.14915, 29.75506, -95.09027, 29.75506, -95.09027, 29.71728, -95.14915, 29.71728}

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