Evidence for a sedimentary siloxane horizon.

Selected samples from two Puget Sound sediment cores have been analyzed for poly(organo)siloxanes(silicones). One core was 60 years old at 30-cm depth (ages by lead-210 dating) and showed no evidence for silicones there. The second, 15 years old at depth, exhibited silicones at depth. Clearly shown is evidence for a siloxane horizon in theses two cores, with the presence of the horizon directly related to the fact that silicones have been in widespread use only since World War II. All samples were analyzed by solvent extraction and diffuse reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectrometry. 10 references, 2 figures, 1 table.