Atmospheric concentrations of toxaphene on the coast of Lake Superior

Thirty-seven air samples were collected from September 1996 through December 1997 at Eagle Harbor, Michigan to determine the atmospheric concentration of toxaphene near Lake Superior. The concentrations ranged between 0 and 63 pg/m(3), with most less than 20 pg/m(3), which agreed well with concurrent measurements over the lake and near Lake Michigan made by other research groups. These concentrations are significantly lower than those measured in 1988 and 1989 in Egbert, a small city in southern Ontario. The phase transition energy was calculated to be 47 kJ/mol, half the value calculated for the Egbert site; this disparity has been seen in comparisons of lakeshore and over-land values for other compounds. If temperature effects are removed, the average toxaphene concentration for the Eagle Harbor samples was 6.4 +/- 2.2 pg/m(3), which was lower than the 16 pg/m(3) average at Egbert, Ontario. This difference in concentration may (or may not) be due to differences ill sampling dates or locations or in measurement techniques.