The NOAA's national status and trends mussel watch program in Galveston Bay: Chlorinated hydrocarbons in oysters, 1986-1997

The Galveston Bay system constitutes one of the largest and most economically important estuaries along the Texas Gulf coast. For many years now, this area has been the recipient of various environmental injuries because of an aggressively growing urban and industrial development. Houston, Deer Park, Baytown, Texas City, and Galveston City, for example, are some of the most heavily industrialized areas on the coast of Texas. For this reason, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) selected to monitor the levels of organic contaminants in bivalves from Galveston Bay as part of NOAA's National Status and Trends Program. The chlorinated hydrocarbon data (e.g. polychlorinated biphenyls, DDT and its metabolites, chlordane-related compounds) produced between 1986 and 1997 for six locations in Galveston Bay (Houston Ship Channel, GBSC; Yacht Club, GBYC; Todd's Dump, GBTD; Hanna Reef, GBHR; Confederate Reef, GBCR; and Offatts Bayou, GBOB) are presented.