Occurrence of Organochlorine Compounds in Whole Fish Tissue from Streams of the Lower Susquehanna River Basin, Pennsylvania and Maryland, 1992

The U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program is a long-term effort designed to evaluate the status of, and trends in, the quality of surface- and groundwater resources in the United States through an integrated approach of physical, chemical, and biological factors. The program was designed to be conducted in 59 separate river basins and aquifer systems that account for about two-thirds of the water use and public water supply in the United States. These basins comprise the framework for regional- and national-level assessments.

The Lower Susquehanna River Basin study was among the first 20 NAWQA studies implemented. The overall NAWQA Program includes bedsediment and fish-tissue investigations; the objectives are to identify contaminant occurrence from a broad suite of compounds, determine any longterm trends in contaminant concentrations, describe spatial distribution of contaminants, and examine the relations between contaminant concentrations and land use.