MA1 Large-Scale Investigations of Contaminated Sediments
256 Portland Ballroom
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM, Monday
() Application of the sediment quality triad approach throughout Puget Sound (Washington State, USA).
Long, E.1, Dutch, M.1, Aasen, S.1, Welch, K.1, Hameedi, M.2, 1 Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, Washington, USA2 National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
ABSTRACT- A survey was conducted to determine the severity, spatial patterns, and spatial extent of degraded sediment quality in Puget Sound (Washington State, USA). Results of chemical analyses, four toxicity tests, and benthic analyses were used to classify 300 samples collected throughout the 2363-km2 area. One or more Sediment Quality Standards were exceeded in 62 (21%) of the samples that represented 6% of the survey area. A highly significant response in amphipod survival tests was recorded in one sample that represented 0.04% of the area. A highly significant response in any of the four tests performed was recorded in 144 (48%) of the samples (27% of the area). Degraded conditions, as indicated with a combination of chemical concentrations that exceeded State standards, a significant response in at least one toxicity test, and multiple indices of impaired benthos, occurred in 37 samples (invariably from urbanized bays and industrial waterways) representing about 1% of the area. Sediments with high quality (as indicated by no toxicity, no contamination, and indices of un-impaired benthic infauna) occurred in samples that represented a majority (68%) of the area. Sediments in which results of the three kinds of analyses were not in agreement were classified as intermediate in quality and represented 31% of the area. In other U.S. marine bays and estuaries, the incidence of chemical contamination ranged from about 1% to 80% (averaged 25%). The percentages of areas affected in amphipod survival tests ranged from 0% in fourteen regions to 85% in one region (averaged 4% among all regions). The incidence of contamination and toxicity often were higher in estuaries of The Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Sydney Harbor (Australia) than in Puget Sound. Therefore, the incidence and spatial extent of degraded conditions in Puget Sound was among the lowest when compared with other saltwater regions.
Key words: Puget Sound, sediment quality