Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Contaminated sediment management?

Sediment remains the number 1 pollutant of our nations waterways

"Mitigating the effects of poor soil conditions once sediment has entered the drainage system and aquatic environment is difficult, expensive and labour–intensive."

Tons of dredged sediment to be dumped on Great Barrier Reef under new plan
SYDNEY—The government agency that oversees Australia’s Great Barrier Reef on Friday approved a plan to dump vast swathes of sediment on the reef as part of a major coal port expansion — a decision that environmentalists say will endanger one of the world’s most fragile ecosystems.
read more

Politicians risk future of reef for sake of progress

On Friday, federal Environment Minister Mark Butler formally delayed making a decision on a deeply controversial proposal to dredge 3 million cubic metres of sea floor and dump it in Great Barrier Reef waters.

read more

 Great Barrier Reef dredging is demonised by activists

Consistently ignored in most reactions to the federal approval of a modest dredging program at the Abbot Point coal terminal in north Queensland is a landmark raising of the environmental protection bar for the Great Barrier Reef.

 read more 



Pollution in Hackensack River sediment alters eating habits of crabs and fish

Levels of mercury and PCBs in the Hackensack River’s sediment are still so high that crabs and bluefish exhibit extremely odd behavior, making it hard for them to catch prey, researchers have found.


For many decades, mercury and PCBs from multiple Superfund sites along the Hackensack and Berry’s Creek, a tributary, have been spread throughout the tidal river system and into the surrounding marshland.
The contaminants bond to the sediment, where they can be absorbed or ingested by plankton and small worms. In turn, those creatures are eaten by larger species, such as fiddler crabs and menhaden, which are then consumed by crabs and young bluefish. As the mercury and PCBs get passed on up the food chain, they become more concentrated at each step.
- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen/Pollution_in_Hackensack_River_sediment_alters_eating_habits_of_crabs_and_fish.html#sthash.KxmPxGTk.dpuf
For many decades, mercury and PCBs from multiple Superfund sites along the Hackensack and Berry’s Creek, a tributary, have been spread throughout the tidal river system and into the surrounding marshland.
The contaminants bond to the sediment, where they can be absorbed or ingested by plankton and small worms. In turn, those creatures are eaten by larger species, such as fiddler crabs and menhaden, which are then consumed by crabs and young bluefish. As the mercury and PCBs get passed on up the food chain, they become more concentrated at each step.
- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen/Pollution_in_Hackensack_River_sediment_alters_eating_habits_of_crabs_and_fish.html#sthash.KxmPxGTk.dpuf