From 1990 to 1994, a total of 21 sediment cores and 37 grab sediment samples were collected from the Milwaukee Harbor Estuary. Each sediment core was sectioned and dated using ²¹⁰Pb and¹³⁷ Cs radioisotope techniques. A total of 305 samples were analyzed for sixteen polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAHs). Grain size distribution, porosity, and total organic carbon content as measured by loss on ignition were also determined. The results provide a historical overview of the impact of industrialization in the Milwaukee area. Although highly variable, the concentration profile of PAHs show, in general, peaks in the 1950's through 1980's. The PAH concentrations have declined since then for most sediment cores. The current levels of total PAHs in most surface sediment samples range from 25 to 200 ppm. A few cores, some of which were collected in 1994, have an elevated PAH concentration at the surface. Toxicity of the surface sediments was evaluated by comparing with the benchmark values developed by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The most heavily contaminated area was found in the Kinnickinnic River between the Becher Street Bridge and the Wisconsin Wrecking Company Wharf. The highest total PAH concentration determined from seven vibra cores collected in this area ranges from 380 to 1000 ppm. The former Wisconsin Solvay Coke Company may have been a major point source of PAHs until the 1970's. Highway traffic and various industrial discharges also contribute to the sediment PAHs in this area.

The atmospheric heavy metal pollution of the Fraser Valley, B.C., Canada was assessed in 1993 by analyzing 62 samples of the common woodland moss Isothecium stoloniferum for lead, cadmium, nickel, zinc, chromium, and manganese. The latter two metals did not show a distinct regional distribution, but lead, cadmium, nickel, and zinc showed distinct pattern along a west-east gradient. High values were found in the metropolitan Vancouver area, located in the west of the study region. Significantly lower values were recorded for mosses from the eastern more rural areas of the Fraser Valley. Metal pollutants are likely to be contained close to their emission sources by alternating south-east, north-west winds. Highest values overall were found in the North Shore Mountains, adjacent to Vancouver. This was related to higher precipitation and short range pollutant transport from the industrialized, heavily populated areas in the floodplain of the Fraser River.

Analysis of PCB, DDT, and chlordane contamination in selected finfish and shellfish species from estuarine and coastal marine waters of New Jersey (U.S.A.) indicates consistently highest organochlorine contaminant levels in samples from the north and northeast regions of the state in proximity to industrialized sites. Gas chromatographic analysis of tissue samples from three finfish species (bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix; striped bass, Morone saxatilis; weakfish, Cynoscion regalis) and one shellfish species (blue crab, Callinectes sapidus) collected throughout the state during the 1986–1987 and 1988–1991 sampling periods revealed mean PCB, DDT, and chlordane concentrations ranging from 200–5, 380 µg g⁻¹ wet weight, 25.14–492.52 µg kg⁻¹ wet weight, and 5–106.44 µg kg⁻¹ wet weight, respectively. A major conclusion of this study is that some commercially and recreationally important finfish and shellfish species in New Jersey waters, especially those which are lipid-rich, have continued to accumulate PCBs, DDTs and chlordane from the environment long after restrictive regulations were first placed on their use in the United States during the 1970s. The greatest impact of organochlorine contamination is nearby urban centers, most notably Newark and New York City.