Use of Data on Contaminant/Sediment Interactions to Streamline Sediment Assessment and Management

Apitz, Sabine E.; Ayers, Brodie; Kirtay, Victoria

doi:10.21236/ada432474

Cited by 14 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(28 reference statements)

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“…Evidence for chemical or biological transformations to less toxic forms. Here, a wide spectrum of methods for assessment and prognosis are available for contaminated sediments (Apitz et al 2004). …”

Section: Natural Attenuation Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sediment research, management and policy

Förstner

Salomons²

2010

J Soils Sediments

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Section: Natural Attenuation Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sediment research, management and policy

Förstner

Salomons²

2010

J Soils Sediments

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“…For instance, if relatively biodegradable contaminants such as light PAHs drive screening risk, managers will be much more likely to consider a natural attenuation strategy than they might if persistent and bioaccumulative contaminants such as PCBs or dioxins are the major risk driver. Sites that have screening risk driven by metals that often are elevated naturally such as Ni and Cr may be subject to a detailed study of regional background levels (Apitz et al 2004, 2005a), though some clearly anthropogenic inputs should be evaluated for source control before any cleanup actions are carried out (Apitz and White 2003; Apitz et al 2005b).…”

Section: Sediment Contaminant Ranges Screening Risk and Risk Driversmentioning

confidence: 99%

The sediments of the venice lagoon (Italy) evaluated in a screening risk assessment approach: Part II—lagoon sediment quality compared to hot spots, regional, and international case studies

Apitz¹,

Barbanti

Bocci³

et al. 2007

Integr Envir Assess & Manag

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The objective of this study was to carry out a critical comparison of data on the screening quality of surface sediments in Venice Lagoon (VL; main lagoon and its subbasins, Porto Marghera [PM], and Venice City Canals) and in other transitional and coastal ecosystems with various levels of human impact (urbanization and industrialization). To put VL in terms of reference and industrialized sites in the region, case studies were selected from the North Adriatic Region; to gain insight into how VL sediments compared to transitional areas throughout the world, case studies also were selected from a number of regions internationally. In order to compare regional levels of contamination, statistically processed sediment contaminant levels within a region (minimum, maximum, mean, and median), not individual sample values, are compared. The screening quality (relative to a variety of sediment quality guidelines) and the drivers of screening risk (based upon contaminant mixtures) of the VL sediments and other coastal and transitional sites are compared and discussed. The VL sediments have hazard quotients on the low end of the range typical of moderately urbanized and industrialized sites and higher than background conditions among the case studies reviewed. The Hg levels in the VL were generally higher than at other sites, and other contaminants were either equivalent or lower. Although sediments have somewhat higher levels of some contaminants and lower levels of other contaminants in PM and Venice City (VC) canals, levels for most contaminants are comparable to case studies with high levels of anthropogenic impact. For many contaminants of interest, PM (and for some, VC) sediments have some of the highest levels of any case study reviewed. How PM and VC rank when compared to other highly industrialized sites depends upon how data are synthesized and how ranges are taken into account. Actual risk must be evaluated using a weight-of-evidence approach, because natural background levels and site-specific bioavailability will differ both regionally and internationally.

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“…The relationship between contaminant levels contained in sediments with the texture and stability of the sediments themselves is now known to be highly complex and is the subject of considerable research (e.g., Apitz et al 2004). Site‐specific conditions can result, for example, in a uniform distribution of contaminants throughout the particle size range of their associated sediments.…”

Section: Relationship Between Sta and Contaminant Levelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sediment trend analysis of the hylebos waterway: Implications for liability allocations

McLaren

Beveridge

2006

Integr Envir Assess & Manag

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Sediment trend analysis (STA) is a technique that determines the net patterns of sediment movement and their dynamic behavior or stability. The data required are the complete particle size distributions obtained from bottom grab samples collected in a regular grid over the area of interest. Appendix 1 provides the particular details of how STA is undertaken. Because many contaminants are known to associate with the natural particles contained in sedimentary deposits, STA can provide additional weight-of-evidence in ecological risk assessment, remedial investigation, remediation itself, and litigation issues. The STA was applied to 242 sediment samples collected from the Hylebos Waterway, Tacoma, Washington, USA, in support of remedial action planning, contaminant source identification, and ultimately allocation of legal liability for contamination. The Waterway itself comprises a narrow shipping channel extending 3 miles from Commencement Bay (Puget Sound) where it ends in a dredged turning basin (Upper Turning Basin). A 2nd dredged turning basin (Lower Turning Basin) is located about three-quarters of the distance down its length. Both sides of the channel are home to an extensive industrial complex associated with significant contaminant releases into the water. The area was declared a Superfund Site in the early 1980s.The results of the STA showed a consistent pattern of sediment transport directed from the mouth of the Waterway to the turning basin at its head. Divided into 5 separate transport environments (TEs), the sediments within the Waterway progress from transport in Dynamic Equilibrium near the mouth, to Total Deposition (type 1) in the vicinity of the Lower Turning Basin, followed by Total Deposition (type 2) in the Upper Turning Basin. Assuming that contaminants associate preferentially with the finer, rather than the coarser, components of the grain size distributions, a probable behavior of contaminants that can be contained in the sediments is proposed for each TE. Maps showing the spatial distributions of existing contaminant data appear to conform very well to the patterns that might be expected from the STA results. This evidence was primarily used to demonstrate that potentially responsible parties (PRPs) located at the head of the Waterway could not be responsible for contaminated sediments toward its mouth. The findings, for example, effectively dismissed the assumption by the Natural Resource Damage Trustee agencies that contaminated sediments from a particular source would be as likely to migrate down the Waterway as up the Waterway. As a result, major documented sources of contamination near the mouth should be expected to bear a larger share of the total cleanup compared with sources farther toward the head. Furthermore, the STA provided explanations for apparent anomalies such as how hot spots of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) could be located near a property where PCBs had never been released into the environment. If sediment gradient pattern analysis alone were used to all...

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Use of Data on Contaminant/Sediment Interactions to Streamline Sediment Assessment and Management

Cited by 14 publications

References 37 publications

Sediment research, management and policy

Sediment research, management and policy

The sediments of the venice lagoon (Italy) evaluated in a screening risk assessment approach: Part II—lagoon sediment quality compared to hot spots, regional, and international case studies

Sediment trend analysis of the hylebos waterway: Implications for liability allocations

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