Prepared in cooperation with the Friends of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River Investigation of Organic Chemicals Potentially Responsible for Mortality and Intersex in Fish of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, Virginia, during Spring of 2007 78° North Fork Shenandoah River 79° 39° 1633650 1633000 77° 38° 82° 81° 80° 76° VIRGINIA 83° 37° Base from U.S Geological Survey digital data, 1987, 1:2,000,000 Decimal degrees Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83) Open-File Report 2008–1093 U.S Department of the Interior U.S Geological Survey 20 40 60 80 MILES 20 40 60 80 KILOMETERS Cover.  Map showing location of the two sampling sites on the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, Virginia Investigation of Organic Chemicals Potentially Responsible for Mortality and Intersex in Fish of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, Virginia, during Spring of 2007 By David A Alvarez1, Walter L Cranor1, Stephanie D Perkins1, Vickie L Schroeder2, Stephen L Werner3, Edward T Furlong3, and John Holmes4 U.S Geological Survey, Columbia Environmental Research Center U.S Geological Survey, Arctic Slope Regional Corporation U.S Geological Survey, National Water Quality Laboratory Friends of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River Prepared in cooperation with the Friends of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River Open-File Report 2008–1093 U.S Department of the Interior U.S Geological Survey U.S Department of the Interior DIRK KEMPTHORNE, Secretary U.S Geological Survey Mark D Myers, Director U.S Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2008 For product and ordering information: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS For more information on the USGS the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S Government Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report Suggested citation: Alvarez, D.A., Cranor, W.L., Perkins, S.D., Schroeder, V.L., Werner, S.L., Furlong, E.T., and Holmes, J., 2008, Investigation of organic chemicals potentially responsible for mortality and intersex in fish of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, Virginia, during spring of 2007: U.S Geological Survey Open-File Report 2008–1093, 16 p iii Contents Abstract Introduction Methodology Passive Sampler Construction Sampling Sites and Field Deployment Sampling Processing and Chemical Analysis Agricultural Pesticides Hormones .3 Pharmaceuticals Waste Indicator Chemicals .4 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) Organochlorine (OC) Pesticides and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) Yeast Estrogen Screen (YES Assay) Quality Control (QC) .5 Estimation of Ambient Water Concentrations Results and Discussion Chemical Analyses Yeast Estrogen Screen Quality Control Acknowledgements References Cited Figure 1.  Map showing location of the two sampling sites on the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, Virginia Tables 1.  Estimated water concentrations of select polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) measured by semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) in the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, Virginia 10 2.  Estimated water concentrations of select organochlorine pesticides and total polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) measured by semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) in the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, Virginia 11 3.  Estimated water concentrations and identification of select agricultural herbicides and pesticides measured by polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) in the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, Virginia .12 4.  Identification of select waste-indicator chemicals measured by polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) in the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, Virginia 13 iv 5.  Identification of select pharmaceuticals measured by polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) in the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, Virginia .15 6.  Estimated water concentrations of select hormones measured by polar organic chemical integrative sampler (POCIS) in the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, Virginia 16 7.  Relative estrogenic potential of chemicals sampled by semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) and polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) deployed in the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, Virginia as determined by the Yeast Estrogen Screen (YES) .16 Conversion Factors SI to Inch/Pound Multiply liter (L) milliliter (mL) microliter (μL) meter (m) centimeter (cm) millimeter (mm) micrometer (µm) gram (g) milligram (mg) microgram (μg) nanogram (ng) pound per square inch (lb/in2) nanogram per liter (ng/L) picogram per liter (pg/L) By Volume 33.82 0.03382 3.382 x 10-5 Length 3.281 0.3937 0.03937 3.937 x 10-5 Mass 0.03527 3.527 x 10-5 3.527 x 10-8 3.527 x 10-11 Pressure 6.895 Concentration = = To obtain ounce, fluid (fl oz) ounce, fluid (fl oz) ounce, fluid (fl oz) foot (ft) inch (in.) inch (in.) inch (in.) ounce, avoirdupois (oz) ounce, avoirdupois (oz) ounce, avoirdupois (oz) ounce, avoirdupois (oz) kilopascal (kPa) part per trillion (ppt; 1012) part per quadrillion (ppb; 1015) Temperature in degrees Celsius (°C) may be converted to degrees Fahrenheit (°F) as follows: °F=(1.8×°C)+32 Concentrations of chemical constituents in passive samplers are given in nanogram per sampler (ng/SPMD or ng/POCIS) Estimated water concentrations of chemical constituents are given in nanogram per liter (ng/L) or picogram per liter (pg/L) Investigation of Organic Chemicals Potentially Responsible for Mortality and Intersex in Fish of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, Virginia, during Spring of 2007 By David A Alvarez1, Walter L Cranor1, Stephanie D Perkins1, Vickie L Schroeder2, Stephen L Werner3, Edward T Furlong3, and John Holmes4 Abstract Declining fish health, fish exhibiting external lesions, incidences of intersex, and death, have been observed recently within the Potomac River basin The basin receives surface runoff and direct inputs from agricultural, industrial, and other human activities Two locations on the North Fork of the Shenandoah River were selected for study in an attempt to identify chemicals that may have contributed to the declining fish health Two passive sampling devices, semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) and polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS), were deployed during consecutive two-month periods during the spring and early summer of 2007 to measure select organic contaminants to which fish may have been exposed This study determined that concentrations of persistent hydrophobic contaminants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (