United States
Environmental
Aoencv
Environmental Research
Laboratory
Narraqansett Rl 02882
&EPA
Trace Metals
Monitoring at Two
Ocean Disposal
Sites
-------
RESEARCH REPORTING SERIES
Research reports of the Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, have been grouped into nine series. These nine broad cate-
gories were established to facilitate further development and application of en-
vironmental technology. Elimination of traditional grouping was consciously
planned to foster technology transfer and a maximum interface in related fields.
The nine series are:
1. Environmental Health Effects Research
2. Environmental Protection Technology
3. Ecological Research
4. Environmental Monitoring
5, Socioeconomic Environmental Studies
6. Scientific and Technical Assessment Reports (STAR)
7. Interagency Energy-Environment Research and Development
8. "Special" Reports
9. Miscellaneous Reports
This report has been assigned to the ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH series. This series
describes research on the effects of pollution on humans, plant and animal spe-
cies, and materials. Problems are assessed for their long- and short-term influ-
ences. Investigations include formation, transport, and pathway studies to deter-
mine the fate of pollutants and their effects. This work provides the technical basis
for setting standards to minimize undesirable changes in living organisms in the
aquatic, terrestrial, and atmospheric environments.
This document is available to the public through the National Technical Informa-
tion Service, Springfield, Virginia 22161.
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EPA-600/3-79-037
March 1979
TRACE METALS MONITORING
AT TWO OCEAN DISPOSAL SITES
by
Bruce H. Reynolds
Environmental Research Laboratory
Narragansett, RI 02882
This study was conducted in conjuction with
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Region III Environmental Impacts Branch
Philadelphia, PA 19106
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LABORATORY
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
NARRAGANSETT, RHODE ISLAND 02882
-------
DISCLAIMER
This report has been reviewed by the Environmental Research Laboratory,
Narragansett, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and approved for publica-
tion. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute
endorsement or recommendation for use.
ii
-------
FOREWORD
The Environmental Research Laboratory of the U.S. Environmental Protec-
tion Agency is located on the shore of Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. In
order to assure the protection of marine resources, the laboratory is
charged with providing a scientifically sound basis for Agency decisions on
the environmental safety of various uses of marine systems* To a great ex-
tent, this requires research on the tolerance of marine organisms and their
life stages as well as of ecosystems to many forms of pollution stress. In
addition, a knowledge of pollutant transport and fate is needed.
This report describes a portion of a four-year multidisciplinary study
of two ocean disposal sites off the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States,
carried out by this laboratory along with the Annapolis Field Office, Annap-
olis, Maryland, and the Environmental Impacts Branch, Philadelphia, Penn-
sylvania, both part of E.P.A.*s Region III. This portion of the investiga-
tion concerns an examination of the special and temporal distributions of
selected trace metal concentrations in shellfish as an appropriate method
for monitoring the fate and effects of two type of wastes, sewage sludge and
industrial acid waste, disposed of in ocean waters.
Eric D. Schneider
Direc tor
Environmental Research Laboratory,
Narragansett
iii
-------
ABSTRACT
The areal distributions of the concentration of cadmium, copper,
nickel, and vanadium in sea scallop and ocean quahog tissue were examined in
the vicinity of two ocean disposal sites located off the U.S. mid-Atlantic
coast on four cruises conducted in 1974 and 1975. Incidental collections of
the surf clam were also made on the last'cruise. Patterns of metals distri-
bution show that: (1) these metals may be used as identification tags for
the individual types of wastes disposed at the two sites; (2) the distri-
bution patterns of the metals content in shellfish may be explained to a
large extent by the regional current patterns; and (3) the known toxicity of
the wastes plus the demonstrated biological availability of the metals con-
tained therein, coupled with the existence of an abundant literature docu-
menting their toxicity in general, indicate that the wastes pose a signifi-
cant threat to marine biota in the vicinity of these disposal sites.
IV
-------
CONTENTS
Page
Foreword • ill
Abstract iv
Contents v
List of Figures vi
List of Tables vii
Acknowledgments viii
1. Introduction 1
2. Materials and Methods 4
Sampling 4
Analytical Methods 4
Statistical Methods . 9
3. Results 10
Placopecten magellanicus 10
Arctica islandica 27
Spisula solidissima 32
4. Discussion 39
Placopecten magellanicus 43
Arctica islandica 44
Spisula solidissTma . 45
5. Conclusions and Recommendations 47
References 48
Appendix A. Analytical Results .... 50
Appendix B. Bioassay Results 63
-------
FIGURES
Number
1 Study Area 2
2 March 1974 cruise station locations 5
3 August 1974 cruise station locations 6
4 February 1975 cruise station locations 7
5 June 1975 cruise station locations 8
6 Mean silver concentrations in whole animal scallop
samples for the March 1974 cruise 12
7 Mean cadmium concentrations in whole animal scallop
samples for the March 1974 cruise . . . . . 13
8 Mean copper concentrations in whole animal scallop
samples for the March 1974 cruise 14
9 Mean nickel concentrations in whole animal scallop
samples for the March 1974 cruise 15
10 Mean vanadium concentrations in whole animal scallop
samples for the March 1974 cruise 16
11 Significantly high cadmium levels in scallop muscle samples ... 19
12 Significantly high cadmium levels in scallop viscera samples ... 20
13 Significantly high copper levels in scallop muscle samples .... 21
14 Significantly high copper levels in scallop viscera samples ... 22
15 Detectable nickel levels in scallop muscle samples 23
16 Significantly high nickel levels in scallop viscera samples ... 24
17 Detectable vanadium levels in scallop muscle samples 25
18 Significantly high vanadium levels in scallop viscera samples . . 26
19 Significantly high cadmium levels in ocean quahog samples .... 28
20 Significantly high copper levels in ocean quahog samples 29
21 Significantly high nickel levels in ocean quahog samples 30
22 Significantly high vanadium levels in ocean quahog samples .... 31
23 Cadmium levels in Spisula for the June 1975 cruise 33
24 Copper levels in Spisula for the June 1975 cruise 34
25 Nickel levels in Spisula for the June 1975 cruise 35
26 Vanadium levels in Spisula for the June 1975 cruise 36
27 Chromium levels in Spisula for the June 1975 cruise 37
28 Zinc levels in Spisula for the June 1975 cruise 38
29 LANDSAT Photograph, 20 April, 1974, 14 hrs. 47 min.
after disposal at the Acid Waste Site 41
30 LANDSAT photograph, 24 February, 1976, 9 hrs. 10 min.
after disposal at the Acid Waste Site 42
vi
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TABLES
Number Page
1 Volumes and composition of wastes 3
2 Mean metal concentrations, Placopecten magellanicus 11
3 Summary of analyses of variance of IV magellanieus data 17
4 Legend: Figures 11 through 22 18
5 Summary of analyses of variance of A. islandica data 27
A-l Mean cadmium concentrations and Duncan's subsets for scallop
muscle samples 51
A-2 Mean cadmium concentrations and Duncan's subsets for scallop
viscera samples 52
A-3 Mean copper concentrations and Duncan's subsets for scallop
muscle samples 53
A-4 Mean copper concentrations and Duncan's subsets for scallop'
viscera samples 54
A-5 Mean nickel concentrations and Duncan's subsets for scallop
muscle samples 55
A-6 Mean nickel concentrations and Duncan's subsets for scallop
viscera samples 56
A-7 Mean vanadium concentrations and Duncan's subsets for scallop
muscle samples 57
A-8 Mean vanadium concentrations and Duncan's subsets for scallop
viscera sample* 58
A-9 Mean cadmium concentrations and Duncan's subsets for ocean
quahog samples 59
A-10 Mean copper concentrations and Duncan's subsets for ocean quahog
samples 60
A-11 Mean nickel concentrations and Duncan's subsets for ocean
quahog samples 61
A-12 Mean vanadium concentrations and Duncan's subset for ocean
quahog samples 62
B-l Toxicity of DuPont iron acid waste, 96 hour TL50 63
B-2 Toxicity of Philadelphia's sewage sludge, 96 hour TL50 63
Vll
-------
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author would like to acknowledge the assistance rendered by the
following individuals at ERLN who contributed significantly to the many
aspects of this study: Dr. Gerald Pesch, program management; Dr. Peter
Rogerson, analytical chemisty; Dr. Janice Callahan, statistics; Dr. Robert
Payne and Mr. Brian Leavy, data management; and Dr. Donald Phelps,
interpretation.
Recognition is also due Dr. Donald Lear of the Annapolis Field Office
and Mr. William Muir of the Environmental Impacts Branch (both EPA Region
III) for their logistics support and under whose auspices the project was
originally conceived.
Special credit is due Capt. Michael O'Brien and the crew of the U.S.
Coast Guard Cutter "Alert" for their continued interest in providing helpful
suggestions and the level of support necessary for conducting several
successful cruises.
Vlll
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SECTION 1
INTRODUCTION
With the passage of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries
Act of 1972 and the subsequent promulgation of the first ocean disposal
regulations by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in October 1973, it
became apparent that considerable additional research was necessary to fully
evaluate the appropriateness of the disposal of a variety of wastes in the
marine environment. With the frequent occurrences of such phenomena as fish
kills, oil spills, and bacterial contamination, there has been a growing
awareness that the oceans are not the infinite sinks for the disposal of
wastes as had been previously assumed. The effects of chronic as well as
catastrophic exposure of marine organisms to various pollutants have further
demonstrated the incompatibility of many of man's activities witft the sur-
vival of the marine ecosystem.
With this recognition of the need for additional research, a study area
of two ocean disposal sites off the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States
was initiated in May 1973. The area was chosen because of its relative iso-
lation from other anthropogenic sources of pollutants and because it in-
cluded the sites used for the disposal of two typical but quite different
types of waste materials. One site, the acid waste site, located 65 km.
southeast of the mouth of Delaware Bay, had, since November 1968, received
wastes from the manufacture of titanium dioxide pigments by the E.I. DuPont
de Nemours plant at Edge Moor, Delaware. The second site, or sewage sludge
site, located 9 km. southeast of the first, had been used primarily by the
city of Philadelphia since May 1973 for the disposal of sewage sludge from
secondary treatment. This study area is shown in Figure 1.
The objective of this research program was to evaluate the biological
availability of the components of the waste materials by determining if
several species of shellfish, frequently exposed to the waste, would reflect
in their tissues elevated concentrations of metals contained in those
wastes. It was further postulated that the distribution patterns of metals
concentrations would correspond to expected directions of current transport
from the disposal sites.
Species of shellfish were selected because, as relatively sessile
filter-feeding organisms, they would have no means of avoiding ingestion of
the components of the waste materials reaching the bottom. Metals were
selected as the parameters for analysis because, in addition to being toxic
pollutants in many cases, they are persistent non-degradable materials
capable of being concentrated or bioaccumulated in marine organisms to
-------
Figure 1. Study Area (depth contours in fathoms, 1 fathom=1.83 meters)
-------
levels many times that of the surrounding waters. In this study, moreover,
the metals contained in each of the two wastes were quite different. The
amounts and chemical constitutents of both wastes may be estimated for the
period of this study from information supplied as a requirement for an ocean
disposal permit (Table 1). From an examination of the relative differences
in chemical composition of the two wastes, it was apparent that metals would
provide useful tags for tracing the fate of these materials. The sewage
sludge, for example, accounts for most of the copper, silver, lead, nickel,
and cadmium disposed in the area while the acid waste accounts for most of
the titanium, vanadium, manganese, and iron.
^ disposal sites, themselves, are located on a level portion of the
continental shelf having sediment of medium to fine sand and water depths of
45-55 m. In general, surface currents have been observed to flow south
through these sites with an onshore component during the warm half of the
year and an offshore component during the cold half. Bottom currents flow
south with an onshore component that persists year round (Bumpus £t aj.,
1973). At the time of this study, both wastes were dumped in volumes of
750,000 to 1 million gallons at controlled rates into the wake of moving
barges traversing the dumpsites over a period of several hours, two or three
times a week.
TABLE 1. VOLUMES AND COMPOSITION OF WASTES DISPOSED AT PHILADELPHIA AND DOPONT OCEAN DUMPSITES
Total Input
gal/yr
l/yr
•pec. gr.
kg/yr
DuPont*
118,000,000
446.700,000
1.19
531,600,000
Philadelphia*
130.400,000
493.400,000
1.029
507,800,000
Individual Metal Input (kg)
DuPont*
Metal
Pe
Cu
Cr
Al
Ag
Mn
Pb
Co
Nl
V
Cd
Zn
Ti
Annual
(1974)
21,400,000
2,400
39.600
364,000
270
572,000
5,630
4,800
4.750
74,300
338
18,300
733,000
98.3
6.9
51.7
25.0
10.4
94.4
7.0
35.5
12.2
99.8
10.8
22.7
99.2
Total
Nov 68-Dec 74
132,000.000
14,800
244,000
2,240,000
1,670
3,530,000
34,700
29.600
29,300
458,000
2,080
113,000
4,520,000
99.6
21.9
81.7
55.7
31.1
98.5
2.8
67.6
34.8
99.95
31.4
52.8
99.8
Annual
(1974)
364,000
32,600
37,000
1,090,000V
2,3007
33,700
74,800
8,700V
33,800
150
2,800
62,300
5,900
Philadelphia*
Z
1.7
93.1
48.3
75.0
89.6
5.6
93.0
64.5
87.7
0.2
89.2
77.3
0.8
Total
May 73-Dec
592,000
52.900
54,800
1,790,000V
3.700V
54.000
1.220,000
14.100V
54.900
227
4,500
101.000
9.600
2
74
0.4
78.1
18.3
44.3
68.9
1.5
97.2
32.2
65.2
0.05
68.6
47.1
0.2
* EatlMtea baaed on DuPont report* submitted to EPA for the period Feb. 6 - July 11, 1974.
A EatiiMtea baaed on Philadelphia report* aubnitted to EPA for the period Feb. 14 - Aug. 6, 1974,
except when noted.
7 EatiMtea baaed on EPA analyaia of submitted aaaplea of waate.
-------
SECTION 2
MATERIALS AND METHODS
SAMPLING
Shellfish of the species Placopecten magellanicus, the sea scallop;
Arctica islandica, the ocean or mahogany quahog; and Spisula solidissima,
the surf clam, were variously collected on four oceanographic cruises con-
ducted in March 1974, August 1974, February 1975, and June 1975 using
half-hour tours with a 12-tooth Fall River rocking chair dredge. Figures
2-5 show the station locations for each of the four cruises. On successive
cruises, some stations were reoccupied while the total area of investiga-
tions was continually expanded with new stations. Due to the patchy distri-
bution of the organisms, not every station yielded each species for each
cruise, nor were sample sizes always equal and sufficiently large for
optimum statistical consideration.
Immediately upon collection, the shellfish were counted, recorded,
placed into labeled plastic bags, and frozen on dry ice aboard the ship.
All samples were maintained frozen until prepared for analysis.
ANALYTICAL METHODS
In the laboratory, the shellfish specimens were individually weighed,
measured, shucked into clean, acid washed, and preweighed Pyrex beakers, and
then reweighed. Dry weights were determined after drying at 80-90°C for
48 h. The samples were then wet digested at 85-95°C in concentrated
HN03 until the resulting solution became clear pale yellow with no ap-
parent nitric oxide fumes or lipids remaining. After bringing to near dry-
ness, the samples were diluted in 5% HN03, filtered through No. 42 acid
washed Whatman paper, and further diluted to a final volume of 50 ml with an
additional volume of 5% HN03. Initially, all samples were analysed in-
dividually for 13 metals contained in the two wastes, using a Perkin-Elmer
Model 403 atomic absorption spectrophotometer, following recommended
standard operating parameters and procedures. Each sample was analysed in
triplicate and the results averaged.^ Matrix interferences were corrected in
the vanadium analysis by adding aluminum salts to the calibration stan-
dards. These corrections were routinely verified by the recovery of spikes
of standard solutions added to selected samples.
The metals examined initially were silver, aluminum, cadmium, copper,
chromium, cobalt, iron, manganese, nickel, lead, titanium, vanadium and
zinc. These metals are those which are predominant in one or the other of
-------
3IMO
Ji-0' H
37'40
75-20'
Figure 2. March 1974 Station Locations,
-------
75-20-
74-0'
Figure 3. August 1974 Station Locations,
-------
75-20'
rs-o
J9M01
39-0'
J8MO'-
38-20'-
38-0' -
37 '40
Figure 4. February 1975 Station Locations.
-------
3i-0' -
37-40
7S-20'
75-01
74MO
74-20'
74-0'
Figure 5. June 1975 Station Locations.
8
-------
the two types of wastes (Table 1). After a review of the results of the
first cruise, it was decided to reduce the number of metals to be examined
from those 13 to 4, namely cadmium, copper, nickel, and vanadium. This was
done in part to reduce the analytical demands as well as to eliminate those
metals which (a) showed low levels of bioaccumulation, approaching the
analytical detection limits, such as cobalt, (b) are otherwise naturally
abundant and thus could possibly have been derived from included grains of
sand; particularly in the case of scallop tissue, such as iron and aluminum,
or (c) have subsequently been found to be subject to possible error using
this analytical method, namely silver. All concentration data is reported
as milligrams of metal per kilogram (ppm) dry weight of organism tissue.
STATISTICAL METHODS
The first statistical tests performed on the data consisted of a
one-way analysis of variance of the 2 to 10 measurements of each metal con-
centrations by station, for each of the species of shellfish, and for each
of the four cruises for which those species were collected. For the first
cruise, March 1974, the data for the sea scallop are reported initially for
the whole animal for each of the initial group of 13 metals (Pesch et al.,
1977). This data, and those for the subsequent cruises, were then subjected
to an analysis of variance performed separately on the metals concentration
data for the adductor muscle, or edible portion of the animal, and the
remaining visceral^fraction. This test permitted a determination of whether
significant variation existed in the data and in which fraction of the
animal it occurred.
The second statistical procedure consisted of performing the Duncan's
Multiple Range test^on the data to define those individual stations having
the significantly highest concentrations. For the first cruise, the degree
of significant variation for inclusion in the Duncan's test was set at the
.05 confidence level (Pesch et al.., 1977). Subsequently, the threshold for
inclusion in the Duncan's test was raised to the .01 confidence level for
all four cruises. An initial interpretation of the results of the Duncan's
test led to the selection of those stations comprising the group or subset
having the highest concentrations as those being of significance (Pesch et
al., 1977). This interpretation was later modified to a more conservative
one in which only those individual stations in that highest subset(s) which
also showed no inclusion or overlap with a lower subset were considered to
be of significance. This latter interpretation, therefore, defined those
stations which individually had the significantly highest metals concentra-
tions, rather than belonging collectively to the highest group. Both of
these technical modifications to procedures reported previously (Pesch, Q
al., 1977) were made to provide the most conservative, and thus the most
defensible, approach favoring the null hypothesis (that no significant
difference exists), and thus the strongest demonstration of evidence of the
biological effects of the waste materials.
-------
SECTION 3
RESULTS
Placopecten magellanicus (sea scallop)
The results of the first cruise, March 1974, are presented on Table 2,
showing the mean concentrations of 13 metals for 2 to 10 individuals for
each of 19 stations. The results of the analyses of variance tests (ANOVA)
are also presented. The results of the Duncan's Multiple Range tests, per-
formed for those 5 metals showing the highest levels of significance of var-
iations (smallest P values), are presented in Figures 6-10.
It may be seen that three of the five metals identified as tags for the
Philadelphia sewage sludge (silver, copper, and nickel) have their highest
concentrations within the geographical confines of the Philadelphia dump-
site. Elevated concentrations are found also at stations located down cur-
rent, southwest from the dumpsite (Figs. 6, 8 & 9). A fourth metal, cad-
mium, shows highest concentrations northeast and south of the site in a pat-
terns having a similar orientation to the first three metals but displaced
seaward of the dumpsite (Fig. 7). Vanadium, a tag for the acid waste, shows
a zone of significantly high concentrations south of the DuPont disposal
site (Fig. 10).
After a review of the results of the first cruise, it was decided to
reduce the number of metals to be examined from 13 to 4, i.e., Cd, Cu, Ni,
and V. These metals had shown the most meaningful results and consequently
would reduce significantly the burden of chemical analyses. Also, since the
scallops had been observed to have trapped variable quantitites of sand
within their mantle cavities, it was decided to exclude specifically those
metals which could possible be leached from sand during the acid digestion
phase. Whereas previously reported data for samples containing sand were
corrected to the extent that the weight of any sand was subtracted from the
dry weight of the sample (Pesch ejt a^., 1977), the revised suite of metals
were those below detection limits in the sand and, therefore, could not pre-
sent a significant source of contamination. In addition, subsequent re-
search at this laboratory (publ. in prep.) indicates that the Ag data repor-
ted here (Table 2) and previously in (Pesch ejt al_., 1977), are subject to
possible error. The study suggests that the application of the commonly
used acid digestion procedure for marine samples may not result in the com-
plete dissolution of the Ag ion, with the result that the values thus deter-
mined may be too low. The remaining 4 metals are, nevertheless, of greatest
interest since V is present almost exclusively in the acid waste while Cd,
Cu, and Ni are found predominately in the sewage sludge (Table 1). The re-
maining 4 metals, therefore, are valid tags for the disposal operations of
both DuPont and Philadelphia.
10
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TABLE 2. MEAN METAL CONCENTRATIONS (ug/g. DRY WEIGHT) IN Placopecten magellanicus WHOLE ANIMAL TISSUE, MARCH 1974 CRUISE
Sample
Station
E
F
2
8
9
14
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
30
Overall
Mefeis
ANOVA
f Value
P Value
Size
10
10
5
9
3
8
9
8
3
2
4
10
6
10
2
5
4
3
3
114
*
Ag
0.58
0.81
9.08
4.16
0.45
0.48
2.15
0.71
0.39
1.11
0.64
2.96
1.24
0.43
1.13
4.93
0.43
0.46
0.50
1.80
3.20
0.0002
Al
201
904
92
197
92
617
775
506
152
313
203
166
139
155
127
78
342
145
229
338
2.02
0.0151
Cd
11.1
24.9
10.9
13.1
15.6
59.3
15.1
11.4
37.5
10.8
14.2
14.7
19.5
22.6
26.0
10.8
55.9
10.1
19.6
20.9
6.80
0.0001
Co
0.48
1.02
0.52
0.38
0.29
0.65
0.37
0.65
0.48
0.78
0.43
0.45
0.66
0.58
0.76
0.69
0.54
0.33
0.38
0.56
1.12
0.3499
Cr
3.31
4.56
2.65
2.71
2.64
2.73
4.19
2.76
2.85
2.01
2.90
4.05
2.08
1.17
0.89
6.88
3.26
1.27
0.94
3.06
3.22
I 0.0002
Cu
6.31
6.81
12.65
9.69
7.54
6.69
8.81
5.16
4.27
5.63
5.25
8.63
8.29
6.14
6.73
9.50
6.28
4.79
4.01
7.31
5.08
! 0.000
Fe
400
2220
190
1040
261
1480
701
1410
565
682
1180
250
251
339
243
286
1110
576
508
803
2.00
1 0.016*
Mn
28.8
63.2
16.1
29.4
24.3
32.8
38.8
41.8
32.2
22.7
29.3
26.9
12.0
18.5
12.9
13.0
22.8
17.1
30.4
29.8
2.34
» 0.0041
Hi
2.64
2.99
14.67
7.84
2.08
1.89
6.00
1.91
1.06
1.65
2.06
6.33
4.34
1.97
4.19
13.65
1.35
1.09
1.03
4.41
5.51
& 0.0001
Pb
2.80
3.96
1.96
7.09
2.52
3.99
3.99
2.45
1.84
1.64
2.06
1.83
1.20
1.54
3.73
5.78
6.91
1.22
1.69
3.59
1.52
0.0982
Ti
6.03
26.22
5.02
6.76
4.53
12.00
10.97
17.27
4.98
16.30
8.68
6.82
9.26
5.48
6.21
1.06
9.19
7.35
8.46
9.80
2.79
! 0.0009
V
34.3
20.8
40.7
37.2
39.4
21.2
37.0
21.6
14.0
19.5
24.4
31.7
24.0
31.3
18.0
45.7
16.6
11.4
13.7
28.5
15.80
0.0001
Zn
108
101
118
124
116
96
122
96
93
101
82
127
103
94
99
94
89
76
107
105
1.25
0.23:
SM Discussion on page 10.
-------
W20
38-0'
37-40
74'20'
I
74'0'
—I
• 0.45
•0.46
• O.SO
• 0.71 »0.3»
•0.84
•1.24
•0.48
•0.81
• 1.13
4.93 «0.43
-38-40'
39-IO'
39*0-
-38-20'
-38-0'
37-40'
75-20'
75-0'
74'40'
74-20'
74'0'
73-40'
Figure 6. Mean Silver Concentrations in Whole Animal Scallop Samples for
the March 1974 Cruise. In Figures 6 through 10, significantly
high values are represented by a diamond; values greater than the
mean are represented by a circle. See Discussion on page 10.
12
-------
39-10-
39-0'
38-401-
38-20'-
38-0- -
37-40-
75-0-
'
74-40'
rs-20-
74-20'
—I—
74-0-
•10.1
• 19. (
• 15.
•1S.1
• 10.8
74'40-
—I—
74-20'
74'0-
-3i-40-
-38-20-
31-0-
37-40-
73-40'
Figure 7. Mean Cadmium Concentrations in Whole Animal Scallop Samples for the
March 1974 Cruise.
i 1
-------
75-20'
39-IO'-
38-40'-
38-20'-
38-0' -
37-40'
74-20'
74'0'
4.79
• 4.01
•9.2$
6.81
C.73
(.28
7S-20'
75-01
—I—
74'40'
74-20'
74-0'
73-40'
-31*40
-38-20'
-38-0'
37-40'
73-40'
Figure 8. Mean Copper Concentrations in Whole Animal Scallop Samples for the
March 1974 Cruise.
14
-------
7S-20'
39-10'
39-0-
37-40'
75-20'
75-0'
75-0-
74-40'
J
74-20'
- 1
74*0'
L_
• 1.09
•1.03
•1.91 '1-06
•2.08
•'•"
•1.19
•2.08
'W
• K97
•2.99
•4.19
•1.3S
74'40'
74-20'
—1—
74'0'
73-40'
.39-10'
-3I-40'
-39-0'
- 31-20'
Si'O'
37-40'
73-40'
Figure 9. Mean Nickel Concentrations in Whole Animal Scallop Samples for 1
March 1974 Cruise.
15
-------
38-0-
37-401
-38-20-
-38-0-
37-40'
75-20-
75-0
74-20'
74-01
73-40'
Figure 10. Mean Vanadium Concentrations in Whole Animal Scallop Samples for
the March 1974 Cruise.
L6
-------
In an attempt to elucidate further the pathways of the waste material
through the biological system, it was decided to perform separate statis-
tical tests on the adductor muscles (the edible portion) and the viscera
fractions of the scallop. In this revised procedure, where a station or
group of stations had been previously defined as having significantly high
metal concentrations in the whole animal, now the specific fraction, muscle
or viscera, contributing to that high value is identified. The results of
the analyses of variance are summarized in Table 3.
TABLE 3. SUMMARY OF ANALYSES OF VARIANCE OF Placopecten magellanicus DATA
March
August
February
June
Cruise
1974
1974
1975
1975
Sample
M
V
M
V
M
V
M
Cd
Metal
Cu Ni
0
X
X
X
0
X
X
X
0
X
*
*
0
X
0
X
0
*
0
X
0
0
X
0
*
0
X
0
0 No significant variation of metal concentrations at the .01 confidence
level.
X Significant variation with an overlapping Duncan's subset of highest
concentrations.
* Significant variation with an exclusive Duncan's subset of highest
concentrations.
M Adductor muscle fraction of animal.
V Viscera fraction of the animal.
The geographical location of those stations having the highest metal
concentrations, according to the previously described interpretation of the
Duncan's tests, are presented in Figs. 11-18 as variously crosshatched
areas. These are composite presentations of the data for all four cruises
showing each of the four metals and the two tissue fractions.
17
-------
TABLE 4. LEGEND: FIGURES 11 THROUGH 22
March 1974 Cruise
August 1974 Cruise
February 1975 Cruise
June 1975 Cruise
Stations which have the significantly highest
concentrations; i.e., those which belong to the highest
Duncan's subset. In this case, the highest subset does
not overlap a lower subset.
O
Stations which have the significantly highest concen-
trations; i.e. those which belong to the highest Duncan's
subset in cases where a wholly exclusive highest subset
does not occur. In the case above, where a wholly
exclusive subset does occur, the circled stations are
those belonging to the second highest subset. In either
case, the circled stations are those which are not
included in ther overlapping portion of the subset.
(Compare each figure with the corresponding table in the
Appendix.)
Stations which have detectable concentrations, but cannot
be tested for significance (Figures 15 and 17 only).
18
-------
75-20'
75-0'
3«'0-
31-40'-
3i'20'H
3I-0' H
J7-401
75-20'
74-40'
74-20'
75-0'
—I—
74-40'
74-0'
74*0-
73-40'
.39MO'
-3fO'
-3I-40'
-3«-20'
-37'40'
73-40'
Figure 11. Significantly High Cadmium Levels in Scallop Muscle Samples.
19
-------
75-20'
39'
-40'-
3i-20'-
38-0' -
37-40'
75-0'
I
74'40'
M'O1
::::-.\
39-I01
37-40'
74-0'
73-40'
Figure 12. Significantly High Cadmium Levels in Scallop Viscera Samples.
20
-------
75-0-
39-0'
M'W-
31-20'-
SI-01 -I
37-40-
74'40'
I
74'20-
M'O1
7S-20'
75-0'
74'40'
74-20'
74-0-
7J-401
-39-0-
-3I-40-
-3«'20-
- 37-40'
73-40'
Figure 13. Significantly High Copper Levels in Scallop Muscle Samples.
21
-------
7S'20'
JfO1
W40-
74-0'
M'O'
rs'40-
.3f10'
-Ji'40%
-M'O'
•V40-
Ti'W
Figure 14. Significantly High Copper Levels in Scallop Viscera Samples.
22
-------
Si*40'-
Jl'201-
3i*0' -
V401
7S-201
M'20'
74'D'
>&
/A
V/A
—I—
M'201
rs'40-
.sno-
-M'40'
-M'M*
-M'O'
Of «0%
Figure 15. Detectable Nickel Levels in Scallop Muscle Samples.
23
-------
75
39*10'
39-01 -
38-40'-
38-20'-
38-0' -
37-40'
75-20'
7S'0'
—I—
75-0'
74-40'
74-20'
I
74'0-
I
—I—
74-40'
—I—
74-20'
73'40'
.3«*IO'
-38-40'
-38-20'
-38-0-
74-0'
-37-40'
73-40'
Figure 16. Significantly High Nickel Levels in Scallop Viscera Samples.
-------
75-20'
74-40'
74-20'
74'0'
3»'0' -
38-40'-
38-20'-
37'40'
7S-20'
ill
74-40'
—I—
74-20'
74-0'
rj'401
.JflO1
-38-40'
-3S-20'
-38-01
37-40'
73-40'
Figure 17. Detectable Vanadium Levels in Scallop Muscle Samples.
25
-------
75'20
39-10'
39-0' -
38'40'-
38•20•-
39-10
-39-0'
-38-40'
-38-20'
-38-0-
37-40'
75-0'
74-40'
74-20'
74-0'
73-40'
Figure 18. Significantly High Vanadium Levels in Scallop Viscera Samples.
26
-------
Arctica islandica (ocean or mahogany quahog)
The analytical procedure for the ocean quahog followed the same course as
that outlined for the scallop, with the exception that each specimen was
digested and analysed whole rather than being separated into muscle and
viscera fractions. The same constraints were applied to the use and
interpretation of the Duncan's Multiple Range test. Again the four metals
selected for appropriateness were cadmium, copper, nickel and vanadium.
The results are presented in Figs. 19-22 following the same format as for
the scallop data. Table 5 summarizes the results of the analyses of
variance for each of the four cruises and for each of the four metals.
TABLE 5. SUMMARY OF ANALYSES OF VARIANCE OF Arctica islandica DATA
Cruise Metal
Cd Cu Ni V
March 1974 X X 0 *
February 1974 X X X X
August 1975 X X * 0
June 1975 X X X 0
0 No significant variation of metal concentrations at the .01 confidence
level.
X Significant variation with an overlapping Duncan's subset of highest
concentrations.
* Significant variation with an exclusive Duncan's subset of highest
concentrations.
Refer to legend on page 18,
27
-------
38-40'-
38-20'-
38*0' -
37-401'
7S'0'
'
75-20'
74-40'
J
74-0'
^3-40'
.S9'IO'
-38-0-
-38'40'
38-20'
38-0'
73'40'
Figure 19. Significantly High Cadmium Levels in Ocean Quahog Samples.
28
-------
75-20
3fl'10
J«-0'
31-40'
37-40'
74-20'
I
74-0-
75-20'
75-0'
74-40'
74-20'
74-0-
73-40-
.39-10-
-3S-40-
-39-0-
38-20-
38-0-
37-40'
73-40-
Figure 20. Significantly High Copper Levels in Ocean Quahog Samples.
29
-------
39-0' -
Si'401-
J7-40'
75-0'
—1—
74-40'
—I—
74-20'
.39M01
-38-40'
-38-20-
38-0'
73*40'
Figure 21. Significantly High Nickel Levels in Ocean Quahog Samples.
30
-------
75-20-
39-10'-
75-0-
38-401-
38-201-
31-0' -
V40-
74-40'
I
74-20'
75-20-
rs-o-
—r~
74'aO'
73-40'
.3»MO'
-39-0-
-38-40'
-3§'20'
—I—
r*'o-
-37-40'
73-40'
Figure 22. Significantly High Vanadium Levels in Ocean Quahog Samples,
31
-------
Spisula solidissima (surf clam)
This species of shellfish has a greater shoreward and lesser oceanward
distribution than either Placopecten or Arctica. Although of commercial
importance along certain areas of the Atlantic coast, it occurs rather
sporadically in the Delaware-Maryland coastal area and consequently was
collected only incidentally to the collections made for the other two
species. The fourth cruise, in June 1975, yielded the largest number of
specimens. However, of the seven stations at which successful collections
were obtained, only three stations, G12, G26, and G36, yielded more than one
or two individuals. See Figure 5 (p. 8) for station locations.
In any case, analyses for six tracer metals were conducted in an attempt
to address the question of the possibility of an inshore source of these
metals in addition to the dumpsites. The metals selected were those four
analyzed previously in the scallop and ocean quahog, namely cadmium, copper,
nickel, and vanadium, with the addition of chromium and zinc.
Because of the paucity of individuals, the data are presented in the
following diagrams (Figs. 23-28) as the mean concentration or single
concentration (horizontal line), the concentration range (vertical line),
and plus and minus one standard deviation (vertical bar), rather than as
Duncan's Multiple Range test results as presented for the other two
species. The stations are arranged in order of increasing distance from the
mouth of Delaware Bay, the hypothesized inshore source of the metals.
32
-------
«
1-
X
0
ui *%./
^f u^fc
ac.
a
0-3
•»•»
00
=«• 0-2
0-1
0-0
2
Cd
(G2
II 1 1
G12
5 30 35 40 45 50 55 60
68
G33
G27 '
-~26 r— r
636
G32
65 70 75 80 85 90 9
DISTANCE FROM MOUTH OF DELAWARE BAY (Km)
Figure 23. Cadmium Levels in Spisula for the June 1975 Cruise.
-------
9-0
Cu
••0
.032
LO
T-0
6-0
SE *o
o
la
*
o
.02
026
012
027
636
.633
60
3.
24
1-0
00
25 30 35 iO
50 55 60 65 70 75
DISTANCE FROM MOUTH OF DELAWARE BAY (Km)
80 85 90 95
Figure 24. Copper Levels In Spisula for the June 1975 Cruise.
-------
160
u-o
100
frO
Ui
60
00
4-0
2-0
N
62
J L
G12
ft
636
G26
627
632
633
25 30 35 40 45
50 55 60 65 70 75 80
DISTANCE FROM MOUTH OF DELAWARE BAY (Km)
•5 90 §5
Figure 25. Nickel Levels in Splsula for the June 1975 Cruise.
-------
u>
o>
5-0
o
u
-------
5-0
I
o
in
30
>-
K
a
00
00
3.
2-0
1-0
0-0
Cr
G2
9-3
G12
G8
G26
G27
.032
G36
,033
25 30 35 40
45 50 55 60 65 70 75
DISTANCE FROM MOUTH OF DELAWARE BAY(Km)
80 85 90 95
Figure 27. Chromium Levels in Spisula tor the June 1975 Cruise.
-------
co
CO
•0
7S
70
65
60
£ 55
0
*
£ 50
a
» 45
t>o
40
35
30
Zn
i
62
'
~
•
•
•
M
• i i i i
m
68
633
—
G27
- -i
612 G26
G36
I —
• Illlllll
25 30 35 40
45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80
DISTANCE FROM MOUTH OF DELAWARE BAY (Km)
85 90
95
Figure 28. Zinc Levels in Spisula for the June 1975 Cruise.
-------
SECTION 4
DISCUSSION
Elevated metal concentrations have been detected at many marine sites
exposed to acid wastes or sewage sludge. Acid wastes from a titanium
dioxide factory near Bremerhaven have been disposed in the German Bight
since May 1969, (Weichart, 1972). Five and a half months after beginning
disposal, elevated iron concentrations in seawater samples were found in an
area of about 515 km^. Since autumn 1969, ferric hydroxide floe has been
found on the bottom. In areas well removed from this dumpsite in the
direction of expected transport, there were indications of iron uptake in
the soft tissues of the filter-feeding bivalve, Venus gallina L. (Rachor,
1972). Since 1948, a similar acid waste from titanium dioxide production by
N.L. Industries has been disposed in New York Bight. In 1970, a study by
Vaccaro et _al. (1972) described findings of a brown, flocculent, particulate
material, probably ferric hydroxide floe, on the bottom of the acid waste
disposal site. Elevated metal concentrations in zooplankton, benthos, and
sediments were also detected.
Large quantities of other waste materials from the New York metropoli-
tan area have been disposed in the New York Bight for nearly a century.
Carmody £t _al. (1973), studying the distribution of metals in sediments in
and around the dredge spoil and sewage sludge sites, found two central
regions of high concentration and zones of elevated metal concentrations
extending 30 km southeast and 12 km northeast of the disposal sites.
Distribution of coliform bacteria and organic matter correlated well with
that of the metals. Areas affected by sewage sludge were found to be
"devoid of normal benthic populations" (Fearce, 1972).
Similar studies have been conducted in the Thames estuary where London
sludge has been disposed since 1887. Shelton (1971) found elevated zinc,
lead, and copper levels in organic muds sampled in the vicinity of the dis-
posal site. Mackay and Topping (1970) described studies in the Firth of
Clyde where the city of Glasgow had disposed its sewage sludge since 1904.
They reported preliminary findings of elevated metal concentrations in sedi-
ments within the disposal area. Further studies by Mackay et al. (1972)
confirmed and extended the earlier findings to include observations of high
metal concentrations in animals within the disposal area.
More recently, studies by Klemas et al. (1978) at the acid waste site
off the coast of Delaware have contributed significantly to the
understanding of the behavior of oceanic currents in the study area.
39
-------
Using current drogues equipped with radio transmitter buoys, surface,
mid-depth, and bottom currents were tracked over periods of up to several
days. The results of the study showed a general tendency for oceanic
currents to flow toward the southwest. The most rapid currents, 1 to 1 1/2
knots, appeared to be derived from storms which, in this area, consist
mainly of strong northeast winds. During the presence of a thermocline
however, the surface waters were observed to depart from the general pattern
of southwest flow and flow toward the north and northeast.
The translocation of waste materials, as a result of these oceanic
currents, is clearly demonstrated by LANDSAT photographs of the area.
Figures 29 and 30 are two of the many satellite photographs available which
encompass the study area and show the acid waste plume. The outlines of the
two disposal sites have been superimposed on the photographs for
illustration purposes. Figure 29 shows a plume of acid waste 14 hours and
47 minutes after disposal took place. The waste plume appears as the cloudy
area oriented in a northwest-southeast direction immediately adjacent to the
southwest corner of the acid waste site. Figure 30 shows a waste plume,
still in its recognizable "pretzel" or "bow tie" configuration, moving out
of the acid waste site toward the southeast. Klemas elt al. (1978) reports
similar behavior for the majority of the plumes thus photographed.
Corresponding photographs of the sewage sludge plumes are not available
since this waste does not possess sufficient contrast with respect to the
water to be photographed. However, given the large scale of the current
patterns, the sludge would be expected to behave in a manner similar to the
acid waste. Differences would be attributable to a differential dispersion
of the wastes with depth and a concurrent presence of current shears with
depth. During two cruises conducted since the period of this report, visual
observations of sewage sludge disposal observations showed a similar
behavior observations showed a similar behavior to that of the acid waste in
that the sludge plumes were carried by surface currents out of the disposal
site and with little lateral dispersion.
It is obvious, therefore, that translocation of the acid wastes out of
the disposal sites occurs with regularity. Moreover, the acid waste plumes
persist visually and more or less intact for several hours after the dis-
posal operation. Consequently, the metals contained in the wastes are
potentially available in significant concentrations for uptake by marine
organisms living quite far for the boundaries of the disposal sites.
40
-------
W075-00I U074-30I N038-0RI-
20HPR74 C N38-53/U074-09 N N38-50/W074-02 MSS 4 D SUN EL52 RZI29 190-8867-N-1-N-D-2L NRSH
W075-00I
W074-30I
W073-3
-1636-150;
Figure 29. LANDSAT Photograph, 20 April 1974, 14 hrs. 47 min. after disposal
at the Acid Waste Site.
41
-------
W075-00I N038-00I W074-081 \ar
24FEB7G C N38-*8/WB7«-09 N N38-48/W070-03 PISS D SUN EL32 HZI39 191 -55«8-N-1-N-D-2L NflSfl ERT< E-2398 I
14075-001
Figure 30. LANDSAT Photograph, 24 February 1976, 9 hrs. 10 min. after disposal
at the Acid Waste Site.
42
-------
Placopecten magellanicus
Cadmium
Results of analyses for cadmium in the viscera of the scallop samples
(Fig. 12) show a consistently recurring pattern in the distribution of sta-
tions having significantly high concentrations of the metal for each of the
four cruises. A definite cluster is seen in an area located between, but to
the east of the two disposal sites, directly on the thirty fathom line. The
wide spacing of collecting stations and patchy distribution of organisms,
however, does not permit a further examination of the actual areal extent
and homogeneity of this cluster and others described. Those stations
defined by the Duncan's tests as having significantly higher levels of cad-
mium in the muscle portion of the scallop are limited to the second and
fourth cruises (Fig. 11). One is located directly between the disposal
sites (August 1974), while the other is to the north and east. In this
case, the higher concentrations are located mid-way between the twenty and
thirty fathom line. These differences in locations of stations having high
concentrations of cadmium in muscle and viscera tissues may provide an
interesting tool for interpretation, since cadmium present in the adductor
muscle reflects true bioaccumulation or assimilation of the metal into the
tissue itself, while cadmium in the viscera of the animal may reflect the
presence of the metal in any form in the digestive tract, in addition to
possible bioaccumulation by the digestive organ tissue. This latter
situation implies an immediately available source but does not necessarily
suggest a long term effect unless assimilation can be established. The for-
mer situation suggests the converse.
Copper
Copper was bioconcentrated to significantly higher levels in the muscle
of the scallop in several stations identified by the Duncan's Multiple Range
test. In the March, 1974 cruise, a single station was identified within the
boundaries of the Philadelphia disposal site. The August, 1974 data re-
vealed a second station having higher concentrations within the disposal
site as well as another to the south and west of the sewage sludge site.
For the February 1975 cruise, those stations having higher concentrations of
copper in the muscle of the scallop were found once again to the southwest
of the sewage sludge disposal site. New areas of elevated levels were also
found more to the north, just outside the sewage sludge site and within the
acid waste site. A fourth station was located well to the north of the acid
waste site. Results from the June 1975 cruise show stations with elevated
levels just north of the sewage sludge site but between the two disposal
areas and one, once again, to the southwest. As seen cumulatively (Figs.
13&14) these stations form a broad congregation of points between the twenty
and thirty fathom lines, centered within or just to the north of the sewage
sludge site and extending toward the south and west. This distribution is
also parallel to the oscillatory northeasterly-southwesterly bottom currents
generally recognized to prevail throughout this area of the continental
shelf (Callaway, 1975).
43
-------
Nickel
As may be observed from the results of the appropriate Duncan's tests,
the distribution of stations having high concentrations in the viscera, if
viewed collectively (Fig. 16), show a pattern similar to that observed for
copper in the scallop muscle tissue, in which consistently high concen-
trations were found within or immediately to the north of the sewage sludge
site with a scattering of other locations ranging northeasterly/south-
westerly from the site. This again parallels the current regime described
for the area (Callaway, 1975). The obvious exception to this is the lack of
any statistically significant nickel concentrations found for the most re-
cent (June 1975) cruise.
Vanadium
The scallop viscera results from the March 1974 cruise show a group of
seven stations having significantly high vanadium concentrations clustered
in and around both disposal sites and extending to the southwest between the
twenty and thirty fathom contours. However, the three cruises since that
date show only a single station each. The August 1974 cruise revealed one
station within the sewage sludge disposal area; the February 1975 cruise
showed one between the two disposal sites, but toward the east on the thirty
fathom line; and the final cruise produced a single station well to the
north and east of the area of disposal activity, between the twenty and
thirty fathom line. Moreover, a comparison of the mean metal concentrations
show a general decline since the first cruise, particularly among the sta-
tions defined as significantly high. Analyses of the muscle fractions for
vanadium have shown consistently very low values, most of which are below
the detection limit, leading to the possible hypothesis that what vanadium
is present in the environment, as shown by visceral uptake, is not readily
assimilated by the adductor muscle tissue.
Arctica islandica
Cadmium
Stations highest in cadmium contained in the total soft tissues of the
ocean quahog were found directly to the east and southeast of the sewage
sludge site. Although the specific location varies from cruise to cruise,
these higher stations appear consistently between the thirty and forty
fathom contours. The wide spacing of sampling stations employed to cover an
increasingly large area of the continental shelf with each subsequent cruise
and the discontinuous distribution of the organisms throughout the area
thwarted our efforts to more closely define these areas of observed high
concentrations. As a check of the analytical precision of the data, the
results were compared with those of Rogerson and Galloway. In the latter
study, a homogenate of 637 Arctica was prepared and analyzed in 65 replicate
aliquots. The variation among replicates was such that the standard devia-
tion was within 6% of the mean for the same 4 metals. Since this measure of
variation among animals at a given station in the present study was typical-
ly 20 to 80% of the mean and since homogenization of animals analyzed indi-
vidually is not a factor, the analytical results may be considered to be
44
-------
sufficiently precise.
Copper
Copper concentrations in the ocean quahog collected on the four cruises
do not display a reoccurring distribution of significantly high values as
observed for cadmium, nor the clustering of high values immediately adjacent
to the disposal sites as observed for the copper concentrations in the scal-
lop. Since there is apparently sufficient copper potentially available in
the environment as evidenced by the scallop data, this scattering of areas
of high concentration for the ocean quahog may perhaps be attributable to
interspecific differences in feeding habit, motility or metabolic utili-
zation of the metal, or perhaps differential speciation of the metal
itself. In any case, there is little obvious association of uptake of this
metal by the ocean quahog with the disposal activities.
Nickel
Although the distribution of nickel concentrations in ocean quahog
samples do not form a consistently reoccurring pattern, for the three most
recent cruises for which the data show a locally high concentration each,
these stations lie in a zone coincident with that observed for the dis-
tribution of cadmium concentrations, i.e. offshore of the dumpsite area and
between the thirty and forty fathom contours. In addition, the highest
value observed for any of the four cruises was the 29.3 ppm. observed at the
February 1975 cruise station M-5. While the sample size of only three
individuals was less than ideal, it was the only successful catch of
Arctica in this area. In any case, the high value possibly may be attri-
butable to the close proximity of this station to the mouth of Delaware
Bay. However, since nickel is a characteristic component of the sewage
sludge and since station M-5 is located only a few kilometers south of a
disposal site used by Philadelphia prior to moving to the present site in
May 1973, a causal relationship is suggested.
Vanadium
Vanadium, selected as a tag or tracer for the acid waste, failed to
show significantly high concentrations in the tissues of the ocean quahog
after the cruise in August 1974. On the two earlier cruises, however,
elevated vanadium concentrations were observed directly southwest of the
acid waste site, along the twenty fathom contour and in the direction of
prevailing bottom currents.
Additional treatment of the scallop and quahog data addressed the
question of metal concentration as a possible function of animal weight, and
hence age. The results of a regression analysis performed on the metal con-
centration and animal weight data indicated a positive correlation of metal
concentration with animal weight. However, a comparison of animal weights
among stations indicated that no station, identified as having significantly
high metal concentrations, was biased due to a correspondingly high abun-
dance of large animals. The higher metal concentrations are therefore in-
terpreted as reflecting a higher, although probably sporadic, degree of ex-
45
-------
posure of the animal to the waste materials at those locations.
It would be quite desirable, at this point, to do a time series analy-
sis of the data in order to examine possible changes in metal levels in ani-
mals between cruises. This is impossible, however, due to a number of
factors. In an attempt to expand the area of examination from one cruise to
the next, not all stations were consistently reoccupied. More importantly,
however, for those stations which were reoccupied, the catch of shellfish
fluctuated greatly, sometimes yielding no specimens at all. As a result of
this variation, a suitable data base was not available to support the sta-
tistical requirements of a time series analysis.
In general, however, a comparison of the present data with that of
Rogerson and Galloway shows that all of the samples collected in the vicin-
ity of the two disposal sites contain metal levels considerably above what
might be expected in a relatively clean marine environment; in this case,
Block Island Sound. Specifically, the present disposal site study shows the
lowest levels for Cd, Cu, Ni, and V in the ocean quahog to be 1.06, 4.44,
3.05, and 1.26 ppm dry weight respectively. The Rogerson and Galloway study
showed corresponding concentrations of 0.01, 0.07, 0.06, and 0.05 ppm in the
Block Island Sound collection of Arctica.
Spisula solidissima
A visual examination of the surf clam data (Figs. 23-28) show that the
concentrations of each metal appear to fall roughly within equivalent ranges
regardless of station. There are no marked increases or decreases in con-
centration with distance from the mouth of Delaware Bay. As a check, a
regression analysis was performed on the nickel data. The results showed no
trend toward higher or lower values either inshore or offshore. However,
since the variation among concentrations at a given station often exceeded
the variation between stations, and with the relatively small amount of data
available in this study there could be no demonstration of a source of en-
richment for heavy metals shoreward of the disposal sites. Thus, the surf
clam did not serve as a useful test organism for tracing the impact of the
waste materials.
46
-------
SECTION 5
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The disposal sites in this study are geographically isolated from an-
thropogenic influences other than the barged wastes. Consequently, it may
reasonably be assumed that the barged wastes are the dominant source of any
high concentrations of anthropogenic metals. These metals, being non-de-
gradable, may be used therefore as tracers of those wastes since the metal
compositions of both waste materials themselves have been well character-
ized. The fact that these tag metals are found in significantly elevated
concentrations in scallops and quahogs, sampled from areas of expected waste
transport from the dumpsite, indicates clearly that the metals-laden liquid
wastes reach the bottom communities as these mid-shelf depths and that the
metals themselves are biologically available, not only within the limits of
the dumpsites themselves but, in many cases, far beyond and that their dis-
tribution is determined to a great extent by the prevailing current regime.
While a greater degree of success in catching large samples of animals
from a great number of reoccupied stations over a longer period of time
would add to a more detailed knowledge of the impact and fate of the two
types of waste materials, it is nevertheless quite apparent that the desig-
nated dumpsites can be considered as no more than discharge sites rather
than containment sites for these liquid wastes. In the case of the metals
attributable to the sewage sludge, the rapid onset of bioaccumulation over a
wide area is evidenced by the patterns of elevated concentrations which
occurred by the time of the first cruise, within a period of only ten months
after the initiation of dumping.
Additional hydrographic and biochemical studies, both short term to
ascertain in detail the fate of a specific waste plume, and long term to
assess net regional distribution patterns and zones of accumulation both in
animals and in sediments, would lead to a more thorough understanding of the
pathways of the waste materials or its fractions into and through the ben-
thic ecosystem. Similarly, knowledge regarding the chemical speciation of
the various metals in seawater, i.e., dissolved, chelated, aggregated, etc.,
would contribute to a more detailed understanding of the apparent different
behavior among those metals. The fact remains, however, that because of
this demonstrated biological availability of metals and their known toxic
properties (Eisler, 1973; Eisler, ejt al. 1975; Eisler etal., 1978; Anon.
1972) the metals contained in these wastes pose a threat to the biota of
this portion of the continental shelf, in spite of the large dilutions
involved in this mode of disposal. It would appear that continued research
is warranted if ocean disposal of wastes on the continental shelf is to be
continued.
47
-------
REFERENCES
Anonymous, 1972. Water Quality Criteria. National Academy of Sciences and
National Academy of Engineering, Washington, D.C.
Barr, A.J. and Goodnight, J.H., 1972. A User's Guide to the Statistical
Analysis System. North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North
Carolina, pp. 138-164.
Bumpus, D.F., Lynde, R.E. and Shaw, D.M., 1973. Physical oceanography in:
Coastal and Offshore Environmental Inventory; Cape Hatteras to
Nantucket Shoals. Mar. Pub. Sers. No. 2. University of Rhode Island.
pp. 1-72.
Callaway, R. , 1975. Testimony before the EPA Public Hearing Re: City of
Philadelphia Ocean Dumping Permit held at Washington, D.C. May 19-23.
Carmody, D.J., Pearce, J.B. and Yasso, W.E., 1973. Trace metals in
sediments of New York Bight. Mar. Pollut. Bull., 4, 132-135.
Eisler, R. , 1973. Annotated Bibliography on Biological Effects of Metals in
Aquatic Environments (No. 1-567). Ecological Research Series. No.
EPA-R3-73-007 . U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Corvallis, Oregon.
Eisler, R., O'Neill, D.J. and Thompson, G.W., 1978, Third Annotated
Bibliography on Biological Effects of Metals in Aquatic Environments
(No. 1293-2246). Ecological Research Series. No. EPA-600/3- 78-005.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Narragansett, Rhode Island.
Eisler, R., and Wapner, M., 1975. Second Annotated Bibliography on
Biological Effects of Metals in Aquatic Environments (No. 568-1292).
Ecological Research Series. No. EPA-600/3- 75-008. U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Narragansett, Rhode Island.
Gross, M.G., 1970. Analysis of dredge wastes, fly ash and waste chemicals —
New York Metropolitan Region. Technical Report No. 7. Marine Sciences
Research Center, State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York.
Kl etnas, V., Davis, G.R. , and Leu, D.J., 1978, Current drogue and waste
observations at the Du Pont waste disposal site., University of
Delaware, College of Marine Studies, Publ. No. CRS 376.
Mackay, D.W. and Topping, G., 1970. Preliminary report on the effects of
sludge disposal at sea. Effluent Wat. Treatmt. J., 10, 641-649.
48
-------
Mackay, D.W., Halcrow, W. and Thornton, I., 1972. Sludge dumping in the
Firth of Clyde. Mar. Pollut. Bull., 3, 7-10.
Muir, W.C., 1978. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental
Impacts Branch, Region III, Philadelphia, PA, (personal communication).
Pearce, J.B., 1972. The effects of solid waste disposal on benthic commu-
nities in the New York Bight. In Marine Pollution and Sea Life. pp.
404-411, ed. M. Ruivo, Fishing News (Books) London.
Pesch, G.G., 1976. Testimony before the EPA-Region III Public Hearing Re:
City of Philadelphia Ocean Dumping Permit held at Georgetown, Delaware,
April 28.
Pesch, G., B. Reynolds and P. Roger son., 1977. Trace metals in scallops
from within and around two ocean disposal sites, Mar. Pollut: Bull.,
8(10): 224-228.
Rachor, E., 1972. On the influence of industrial waste containing
and FeS04 on the bottom fauna off Helgoland (German Bight). In
Marine Pollution and Sea Life. pp. 390-392, ed. M. Ruivo, Fishing News
(Books) London.
Rogerson, R.F. and W.B. Galloway, 1977. Preparation and characterization of
a marine reference material for trace element determinations. In
Answers in Marine Research: Proceedings of a Symposium on the State of
Marine Environmental Research, June 13-17, 1977, Francine Jacoff, ed.,
EPA Publication (in press).
Shelton, R.G., 1971. Sludge dumping in the Thames Estuary?.. Mar. Pollut.
Bull., 2, 24-27.
Vaccaro, R.F., Grice, G.D., Rowe, G.J. and Wiebe, P.H., 1972.. Acid-iron
waste disposal and the summer distribution of standing crops in the New
York Bight., Wat. Res., 6, 231-256.
Weichart, G., 1972. Chemical and physical investigations on marine
pollution by wastes of a titanium dioxide factory. In Marine Pollution
and Sea Life, pp. 186-188, ed. M. Ruivo, Fishing News (Books) London.
49
-------
APPENDIX A
ANALYTICAL RESULTS
The raw data used to prepare Figures 11 through 22 are presented in the
following tables. Tables 5-12 present the mean concentrations and Duncan's
subsets of each of the four metals for each station for the four cruises in
the scallop muscle tissue (Tables 5, 7, 9, and 11) and in the scallop
viscera (Tables 6, 8, 10, and 12). Tables 13-16 present similar data for
Arctica islandica.
LEGEND
n number of samples
IT mean metal concentration
D Duncan's subset. Those stations bounded by a vertical line (a
subset) are not significantly different from each other.
Sta Cruise station number
Except: In Tables 9 and 11 where many of the results were below the
analytical detection limits, as indicated by N.D. in the IT column,
the Duncan tests could not be performed and the number listed in
parentheses in the D column are the number of samples at those
stations which were above the detection limit.
50
-------
TABLE A-l. MEAN CADMIUM CONCENTRATIONS AND DUNCAN'S SUBSETS FOR SCALLOP MUSCLE SAMPLES
March 1974 August 1974 February 1975 June 197S
n x o Sta n x D Sta n x 0 Sta n x 0 Sta
9 8.78
4 5.16
5 4.01
4 2.20
1 1.87
9 1.74
6 1.67
2 1.55
4 1.32
3 0,90
3 0.84
1 0.69
8 0.64
10 0.60
4 0.57
1 0.56
3 0.53
2 0.46
1 0.40
14 10 2.64 '
27 3 2.08
19 10 2.06
f 9 2.02
23 10 1.84
8 4 1.48
24 3 1.46
20 2 1.35
18 2 1.19
19 1 3.54
•
•
28 7 1.18
30 2 1.00
29 2 0.98
17 10 0.87
22 1 0.85
E 9 0.72
21 3 0.70
9 2 0.68
2 1 0.51
8 1 0.49
28 2 3.29
25 8 3.20
14 9 3.16
27 2 2.16
21 10 2.15
E 1 1.93
18 10 1.77
26 1 1.67
F 10 1.64
33 4 1.49
9 10 1.46
22 1 1.42
20 7 1.36
17 10 1.17
8 9 1.02
B 5 1.00
A 1 0.74
26 2 3.69 •
C 2 2.83
F 2 2.66
14 10 2.55
30 6 2.49
23 12 2.48
20 2 2.46
27 2 2.30
D 6 2.11
T14 2 2.00
E 5 1.80
24 2 1.69
28 2 1.51
0
•
»
8 10 1.39
2 21 1.36
22 6 1.16
29 1 1.09
"-A 2 0.99
• 29 2 0.66
629
619
620
610
625
627
647
614
622
632
624
653
634
654
638
65
637
- 642
9 0.46 24
-------
TABLE A-2. MEAN CADMIUM CONCENTRATIONS AND DUNCAN'S SUBSETS FOR SCALLOP VISCERA SAMPLES
Ol
K)
March 1974 August 1974 February 1975 June 1975
n It D Sta n 7 D Sta n * D Sta n x D Sta
7 104.1 •
4 86.4
4 66.9 •
2 39.5 '
3 38.9
10 38.7
10 36.6
6 30.7
3 28.0
1 27.0
1 26.0
6 25.9
10 24.6
9 24.4
4 20.6
12 20.2
8 19.3
10 18.5
5 17.6
2 17.3
3 16.0 •
14 10 121.2 -
T 27 10 115.7
R «
•»•
• 19 10 109.0
25 10 88.6 -
30 4 59.5 -I
F 3 53.8
24 7 50.4
23 10 49.0
9 10 45.0
29 3 41.2
B 2 38.6
•26 1 38.4
22 2 37.4
17 7 36.8
21 1 35.6
E 9 33.4
18 5 33.3
8 3 32.5
2 1 30.6
20 3 29.2
28 4 26.5 •
27 9 161.8 T
14 1 119.5 1 i
T 25 10 88.1
T W 2 95.9
r 8 10 89-4
IE 10 74.2
F 9 55.5
•L 24 5 50.0
21 10 47.1
18 1 38.6
9 4 37.6
20 10 34.6
B 7 31.5
17 1 30.8
A 9 30.3
22 2 25.8
33 3 24.5
C 1 19.5
29 1 16.1
14 10 105.3 -r
- 26 2 94.1
27 6 80.6
30 14 71.7 J-
23 7 63.0
F 2 49.2
T14 10 45.0
29 7 44.0
22 22 42.9
20 2 38.6
E 2 36.9
24 1 33.7
8 2 32.0
A 2 27.7
2 2 25.2
C 2 25.1
28 2 24.6
D 2 19.5
9 13 19.3
620
' 629
610
625
614
642
634
638
654
619
647
65
622
653
627
624
637
D
• 632
26
28
-------
TABLE A-3. MEAN COPPER CONCENTRATIONS AND DUNCAN'S SUBSETS FOR SCALLOP MUSCLE SAMPLES
CO
March 1974 August 1974 February 1975 June 1975
n 5f D Sta n ST 0 Sta n if D Sta n x D Sta
5 14.84 T
4 8.98 1 •
9 6.01
10 4.42
8 4.11
1 4.10
2 3.62
6 3.31
2 2.23
9 2.04
4 1.80
8 1.80
10 1.74
5 1.54
10 1.52
4 1.43
12 1.26
3 1.23
3 1.00
3 0.95
1 0.95
2 3 4.42 T E 2 6.60 T D 2 2.57 •
• 26 3 4.32 26 1 5.65 1 9 12 2.23
8 3 2.57 -L -I
22 9 2.20
17 10 2.04
B 3 1.98
20 5 1.72
23 3 1.71
25 10 1.44
14 3 1.41
27 7 1.33
18 10 1.14
F 1 1.10
19 10 1.03
24 9 0.99
21 1 0.97
E 10 0.95
28 1 0.93
9 2 0.85
30 2 0.80
'•29 9 0.80
C 2 3.40 T C 2 1.87
21 3 3.26 28 2 1.77
22 10 2.32 lj F 14 1.74
18 10 1.83 -
33 10 1.76
28 7 1.74
25 4 1.67
8 1 1.54
F 10 1.44
27 2 1.43
A 9 1.35
24 10 1.30
14 10 1.30
29 1 1.29
19 1 1.28
20 5 1.27
8 9 1.12 -
T14 2 1.59
2 2 1.51
8 2 1.48 •
D
632
•
E 22 1.29
•*• 20 10 1.29
24 2 1.26
30 7 1.24
14 7 1.23
23 1 1.21
27 2 1.21
A 6 1.12
26 10 1.11
29 2 1.05
22 2 0.94
• G27
£19
G25
637
G24
653
654
634
629
614
638
65
622
610
620
647
- 642
9
• 17
-------
TABLE A-4 MEAN COPPER CONCENTRATIONS AND DUNCAN'S SUBSETS FOR SCALLOP VISCERA SAMPLES
March 1974 August 1974 February 1975 June 1975
n x D Sta n x D Sta n x" D Sta n x 0 Sta
1 14.30
10 12.74
5 11.92
9 11.84
6 11.62
10 11.60
3 10.70
7 10.63
10 9.75
12 9.72
7 9.64
2 9.13
4 9.12
10 9.03
4 7.86
8 7.74
3 7.24
1 7.15
3 7.12
4 7.07
2 6.99 •
B 3 20.09 — E 2 15.85 i
8 10 12.72 -I
2 10 12.50
17 10 11.79
23 4 10.99
22 4 10.56
9 10 10.53
14 9 10.47
F 1 10.35
E 3 10.35
26 10 10.24
25 10 9.90
27 1 9.54
24 3 8.90
19 7 8.75
18 5 8.58
28 3 8.30
29 2 8.29 J
25 1 14.16
27 3 12.58
30 7 8.05
21 2 8.04
20 1 8.04
• 14 10 12.10
8 5 11.83
28 10 11.79
21 9 11.31
22 1 11.28
A 1 11.20
18 7 10.75
19 2 10.42
24 10 10.24
29 4 10.12
C 1 9.84
f 1 9.39
33 10 9.38
26 9 8.70
9 9 8.69
17 10 7.91
30 2 9.61
26 10 9.59
28 2 9.54
22 22 9.54
29 14 9.42
27 7 9.36
14 2 9.24
9 7 9.16
0 13 9.09
8 2 9.01
C 2 8.70
f 6 8.69
E 2 8.58
20 10 8.38
A 1 8.35
23 2 8.35
T14 2 8.00
2 2 7.29
24 2 7.25
G42
620
653
654
625
614
647
638
632
629
D
610
619
634
65
637
624
627
622
8
- 20
-------
TABLE A-5. MEAN NICKEL CONCENTRATIONS AND DUNCAN'S SUBSETS FOR SCALLOP MUSCLE SAMPLES
Ul
Ul
M*rch 1974
n i" D Sta
5 22.29 - 2
5 10.60 - 26
9 8.40 - 8
9 8.08 - 17
10 7.02 - 22
1 6.08 -- B
10 2.22 - E
2 1.50 - 20
3 0.88 - 9
1 0.28 - 29
3 NO (1) 28
8 NO (6) 18
4 NO (3) 21
6 NO (4) 23
4 NO (3) 27
5 NO (4) 19
10 NO (6) 24
2 NO (1) 25
3 NO (2) 30
10 NO (5) F
9 NO (4) 14
August 1974
n x 0 Sta
3 4.86 -- E
10 1.41 « 22
3 0.75 -- 8
10 NO (0) 24
10 NO (1) 25
7 NO (0) F
10 NO (5) 27
3 NO (2) 26
9 NO (2) 17
2 NO (0) 9
5 NO (1) 33
2 NO (0) 8
1 NO (0) 20
3 NO (0) C
9 NO (0) 21
9 NO (0) 14
10 NO (0) 19
3 NO (0) 18
1 NO (0) A
3 NO (0) 28
1 NO (0) 29
February 1975
n 7 0 Sta
1 0.29 - 26
10 NO (1) 2
7 NO (2) 8
1 NO (0) 20
4 NO (0) E
1 NO (0) 9
2 NO (0) D
10 NO (3) 27
10 NO (2) 22
2 NO (1) C
1 NO (0) A
2 NO (0) 30
5 NO (0) 29
3 NO (0) 23
10 NO (8) F
9 NO (4) 14
10 NO (0) 23
10 NO (0) T14
10 NO (0) 24
June 1975
n It D Sta
8 NO (0) 620
14 NO (0) 625
22 NO (0) 654
2 NO (1) 624
7 NO (1) 614
2 NO (0) 622
7 NO (0) 638
13 NO (0) 632
10 NO (0) 634
2 NO (0) 637
2 NO (0) 642
6 NO (0) 610
2 NO (0) 627
2 NO (0) 647
1 NO (0) 6S
2 NO (0) 619
2 NO (0) 620
2 NO (0) 653
2 NO (0) 629
2 NO (0) D
-------
TABLE A-6. MEAN NICKEL CONCENTRATIONS AND DUNCAN'S SUBSETS FOR SCALLOP VISCERA SAMPLES
Oi
March 1974 August 1974 February 1975 June 1975
n x 0 Sta n x" 0 Sta n x D Sta n I D Sta
1 13.14 -
5 10.78
7 10.35
10 8.06
10 5.96
9 5.96
2 4.64
6 4.24
10 3.93
1 3.21
3 3.10
r B 3 8.77 —El 7.55 j D 2 3.65
2 2 4.39 T 18 10 4.46 T F 1 2.65
26 4 3.57 25 1 3.16 *- •
8 9 2.% T 22 9 3.05
12 2.87
7 2.80
10 2.72
8 2.68
4 2.02
4 1.99
2 1.75
3 1.69
3 1.50
4 1.49
- 22 1 2.30 •
17 10 2.16
25 4 1.97
23 10 1.87
F 8 1.82
29 1 1.80
9 2 1.77
E 10 1.77
14 7 1.66
24 1 1.54
18 1 1.49
27 2 1.47
21 1 1.34
20 3 1.34
30 1 1.30
28 2 1.28
• 19 7 1.18 -
J- 26 2 2.76 •!•
27 10 2.60
8 5 2.54
24 10 2.47
14 2 2.35
28 1 2.30
•L 21 4 2.19
19 1 1.92
F 2 1.84
29 9 1.74
C 1 1.73
B 7 1.62
A 1 1.52 J
23 9 2.63
14 7 2.51
30 20 2.46
22 1 2.46
29 6 2.44
27 2 2.34
C 6 2.33
26 8 2.30
E 1 2.29
20 2 2.17
28 2 2.16
2 10 2.10
A 2 1.70
8 2 1.69
• 24 1 1.63
632
619
634
638
654
65
614
653
610
625
627
622
629
620
647
642
624
33
20
9
17
-------
TABLE A-7, MEAN VANADIUM CONCENTRATIONS AND DUNCAN'S SUBSETS FOR SCALLOP MUSCLE SAMPLES
March 1974
n * Q St*
5 1.74 - 19
1 1.28 - 29
3 NO (0) 28
2 NO (1) 20
4 NO (0) 21
6 NO (0) 23
4 NO (3) 27
10 NO (3) 24
2 NO (0) 25
3 NO (0) 30
10 NO (2) F
9 NO (4) 14
5 NO (0) 2
9 NO (7) 8
1 NO (0) B
9 NO (1) 17
5 NO (4) 26
3 NO (0) 9
12 NO (0) E
10 NO (0) 22
8 NO (1) 18
August 1974
n t 0 Sta
10 NO (2) 22
3 NO (1) E
3 NO (1) 8
10 NO (1) 24
10 NO (0) 25
7 NO (0) F
10 NO (1) 27
3 NO (0) 26
9 NO (2) 17
2 NO (1) 9
5 NO (1) 33
2 NO (0) B
1 NO (0) 20
3 NO (0) 6
9 NO (0) 21
9 NO (0) 14
10 NO (2) 19
3 NO (0) 18
1 NO (0) A
3 NO (0) 28
1 NO (0) 29
February 1975
n I 0 Sta
1 0.79 - 20
1 0.70 - U14
1 0.68 - 26
10 NO (0) 2
7 NO (1) 8
4 NO (0) E
1 NO (0) 9
2 NO (0) 0
10 NO (3) 27
10 NO (1) 22
2 NO (1) C
1 NO (0) A
2 NO (0) 30
5 NO (0) 29
3 NO (0) 28
10 NO (2) F
9 NO (3) 14
10 NO (2) 23
10 NO (1) T14
10 NO (0) 24
June 1975
n x D Sta
2 5.39 — 624
2 1.95 - 622
7 NO (1) 638
8 NO (0) 620
14 NO (0) 625
22 NO (0) 654
13 NO (0) 632
10 NO (0) 634
2 NO (0) 637
2 NO (0) 642
6 NO (4) 610
7 NO (3) 614
2 NO (1) 627
2 NO (1) 647
1 NO (0) 65
2 NO (0) 619
2 NO (0) 620
2 NO (0) 653
2 NO (0) 629
2 NO (0) 0
-------
I/I
00
BLE A-8. MEAN VANADIUM CONCENTRATIONS AND DUNCAN'S SUBSETS FOR SCALLOP VISCERA SAMPLES
March 1974 August 1974 February
n x"
1 74.2 •
3 71.7
6 67.3
5 64.2
10 62.8
9 62.4
12 56.7
10 53.4
10 50.2
6 39.3
t
8 37.1
7 36.1
4 35.3
10 32.0
2 31.7
1 29.0
3 28.3
4 27.3
2 26.8
4 26.4
3 21.0
0 Sta n x 0 Sta n *
B 2 35.06 - E 9 21'26 "\
9 7 18.62
26 2 17.66
2 4 17.58
8 2 17.37
17 10 17.17
E 9 16.78
22 10 16.58
24 10 15.88
»
m
23 3 15.79
18 4 13.47
14 10 13.31
21 1 13.13
F 6 12.54
20 1. 11.33
29 2 10.77
30 3 10.30
19 8 9.58
25 1 8.81
27 1 7.47
^28 3 6.88 -
r 17 1 19.24
g 10 16.91 •
8 10 14.80
B 2 14.78
27 10 14.35
22 10 13.49
19 1 13.40
14 9 12.97
33 5 11.74
21 8 10.86
24 4 10.09
20 10 9.98
F 1 9.74
18 1 9.H
C 2 8.92
28 ? 8.44
25 2 7.83
29 1 7-?6
A
L 26
1975 June 1975
0 Sta n H 0 Sta
14 6 13.16 •
«
•
• 26 10 11.64
27 7 11.39
F 8 11.16
30 2 11.06
22 2 10.36
23 2 9.97
20 2 9.94
2 2 9.15 •
• 610
29 20 8.21
T14 2 7.70
E 2 7.28
24 6 7.19
U14 3 6.98
0 2 6.86 •
620
•
C 10 6.65
8 1 5.15
28 1 4.55
614
625
622
653
647
629
627
654
642
624
638
632
619
634
65
• 637
A
-------
TABLE A-9. MEAN CADMIUM CONCENTRATIONS AND DUNCAN'S SUBSETS TOR OCEAN QUAHOG SAMPLES
VO
March 1974 August 1974 February 1976 Oune 197S
n x 0 Sta n x 0 Sta n T D Sta n « 0 Sta
10 4.01 j
4 2.78 1 -|
10 2.62
2 2.52
10 2.40
3 2.36
1 2.28
6 2.08
7 2.04
1 1.96
10 1.98
S 1.90
5 1.77
4 1.76
2 1.73
10 1.73
2 1.68
10 1.65
6 1.48
25 3 4.31 T
» 14 2 3.19 -L-1
27 10 2.39
2 9 2.37
F 2 2.24
24 3 2.19
18 1 2.18
28 7 2.16
E 9 2.08
D 8 1.95
17 7 1.80
29 10 1.79
25 9 4.09 '
2 9 3.60
•
20 8 1.61
.A 1 1.60
• 8 10 3.60
F 1 3.23
24 2 3.16
9 9 3.05
27 5 2.81 .
4
•
17 8 2.70
32 10 2.69
18 6 2.65
28 10 2.62
E 9 2.53
22 1 2.46
1-33 1 2.39
26 6 2.36
9 5 2.27
C12 1 3.60 •
r 14 2 3.42
27 2 3.40
•
•
B 8 2.26
22 3 2.23
L C 1 1.06
r is 2 3.02
C 2 2.81
25 10 2.43
F 2 2.19
24 2 2.13
17 2 1.97
629
634
•
»'
23 2 1.86
8 2 1.84
2 2 1.80 -
1 620
D
»
0 2 1.45
T14 2 1.45
22 2 1.41
625
654
619
637
638
635
642
653
614
647
632
HI
9
26
L 20
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TABLE A-10. MEAN COPPER CONCENTRATIONS AND DUNCAN'S SUBSETS FOR OCEAN QUAHOG SAMPLES
March 1974 August 1974 February 1975 June 1975
n x D Sta n x" 0 Sta n x D Sta n x~ D Sta
6 11.30 •
4 9.79
10 9.73
5 9.67
2 9.55
10 9.32
6 8.86
2 8.85
7 8.60
1 8.56
1 8.40
10 8.34
2 8.22
3 8.01
10 7.88
5 7.63 •
28 2 13.23 •
«
10 7.13
4 7.04
10 6.64
A 8 10.21
9 10 10.13
20 9 10.00
2 10 9.82
22 1 9.82
C 7 9.41
26 3 9.17
24 8 7.51 '
E 8 8.39
18 3 8. JO
D 7 7.96
25 9 7.87
B 2 6.13
24 1 4.48
22 1 7.32
E 4 7.20
32 3 7.07
8 5 6.96
33 5 6.93
17 6 6.45
9 9 6.23
18 1 6.19
25 10 5.86
28 1 5.82
F 2 5.76
2 6 5.67
27 9 5.50 •
9 2 9.25 -
17 8 5.42
29 3 5.22
27 1 4.80
14 9 4.73
F 10 4.73
10 4.50
9 4.44
T14 2 9.07
E 2 8.90
MS 2 8.21
HI 2 8.17
F 2 7.82
22 12 7.58
25 2 7.27
18 2 6.32
8 2 6.30
20 2 6.28
C 2 6.19 •
647
G25
632
23 2 5.33
2 2 5.31
24 1 4.52
- 634
D
653
654
619
614
620
638
65
642
637
- 629
26
D
14
27
17
*• C12
-------
TABLE A-ll. MEAN NICKEL CONCENTRATIONS AND DUNCAN'S SUBSETS FOR OCEAN QUAHOG SAMPLES
March 1974 August 1974
n H 0 SU n H
4 13.36 '
6 11.73
2 11.59
10 11.22
10 10.80
10 10.52
5 9.56
1 9.55
3 9.11
5 8.85
4 8.34
6 7.35
1 6.89
10 6.77
10 6.63
2 6.61
10 6.56
7 5.22
2 4.21 •
14 3 18.36 T
28 2 16.29 -U
2 7 9.64
27 10 8.97
25 7 8.94
F 8 8.40
20 8 7.59 •
18 9 7.32
24 10 7.19
29 9 6.79
A 2 6.69
C 1 5.84
0 3 5.41
17 1 4.04
9
8
22
E
26
February 1975 June 1975
0 Sta n x 0 Sta n IT 0 Sta
25 3 29.29 -
r 24 10 14.45 -I
P 28 1 14.04
E 5 13.31
17 1 13.02
22' 9 12.49
18 9 11.38
F 6 11.05
8 9 10.95
32 1 10.24
2 1 10.03
27 8 9.99
9 3 9.87
• 33 9 9.75
6 9.30
4 9.03
10 8.77
2 7.74 -
MS 2 22.65 T
27 2 13.51 -1 -
i
10 7.45
8 7.41
5 5.42
D 2 9.77
F 2 9.23
T14 2 9.16
25 12 8.30
C12 2 8.19
23 2 7.70
14 2 7.40
18 1 6.92
20 2 6.43
24 2 4.75
26 2 4.32
2 2 4.00
22 2 3.05
620
- 65
625
653
614
654
634
619
632
629
0
642
638
647
• 637
E
17
C
8
9
' HI
-------
TABLE A-12. MEAN VANADIUM CONCENTRATIONS AND DUNCAN'S SUBSETS FOR OCEAN QUAHOG SAMPLES
to
March 1974 August 1974 February 1975 June 1975
n I 0 Sta n I 0 Sta n x D Sta n * 0 Sta
10 20.63 - 9 3 4.30 1
10 19.97 '
I 16.72
7 15.42
10 15.20
1 13.20 •
3 12.63
2 11.44
6 8.76
2 8.69
5 8.54
10 7.83
1 7.14
5 6.53
4 6.38
4 6.18
6 5.82 '
t
«
22 7 3.71
T 26 2 3.48
E 1 3.39
17 1 3.32
0 2 3.06
24 8 3.02
•*• 2 9 2.77
C 10 2.48
•
»
10 4.57
10 4.25 •
B 10 2.38
20 7 2.10 J
- 9 5 3.11
17 1 3.03
•
»
27 9 1.70
18 2 1.59
29 8 1.57 -1
• 24 9 2.92
27 3 2.89
33 9 2.83
2 8 2.77
22 5 2.75
32 6 2.61
8 2 2.54
E 10 2.53
28 6 2.35
p 10 2.32
25 9 2.31
w 8 2.30
14 9 2.15
A 9 2-07
28 3 1-*
F 1 1.88
25 1 1-84
4 1.76
1 1.64
HI 2 2.88
T14 2 2.73
C12 2 2.39
N5 2 2.39
14 12 2.22
24 2 2.14
F 2 2.12
22 2 1.96
C 2 1.95
17 2 1.90
23 2 1.83
8 2 1.56
27 1 1.52
9 2 1.51
2 2 1.26
634
65
647
619
654
620
638
632
625
637
D
614
629
653
642
25
26
18
0
E
20
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APPENDIX B
BIO ASSAY RESULTS
The following bioaasay results have been supplied to the U.S. Environ-
mental Protection Agency, Environmental Impacts Branch, Region III,
Philadelphia, PA by E.I. DuPont de Nemours and the City of Philadelphia as a
condition of their EPA ocean disposal permits, DE Oil and PA 012, respect-
ively. These are a summary of a year's worth of analyses and may be
considered as indicative of the general level of toxicity of the respective
wastes.
TABLE B-l. TOXICITY OP DUPONT IRON ACID WASTE, 96 HOUR TL50
Species Concentration of Waste
Pseudopleuronectes americanus (fish) 200-400 PPM
Crangon septemspinosa (shrimp) 203-625 PPM
Acartia tonsa (copepod) 35-72 PPM
TABLE B-2. TOXICITY OF PHILADELPHIA SEWAGE SLUDGE, 96 HOUR TL50
Species Concentration of Waste
Menidia menidia (fish) 1350-1700 PPM
Aeartia tonsa (copepod) 9-33 PPM
Skeletonema costatum (diatom) 26-29 PPM
Thus, the two species of fish demonstrate the greatest resistance to the
toxic properties of the two wastes. These animals also possess the greatest
potential for avoidance of waste laden water by mean of locomotion. The two
planktonic species, on the other hand, exhibit the greatest sensitivity to
the wastes. This is particularly significant since Acartia is a recognized
standard organism for such bioassay determinations. Moreover, it feeds on
the same size range of food particles as do the shellfish in this study. It
particularly thrives on Skeletonema. In any case, this means that at a
given site, the menu of Aeartia and the filter feeding mollusc, Plaeopecten,
would be expected to be similar, if not identical. Thus the incorporation
of the waste materials, along with their thus demonstrated toxic properties,
into the shellfish food chain in the vicinity of these ocean disposal sites
is an obvious potential problem.
63
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TECHNICAL REPORT DATA
(Please read Itatniftioiu an the revene before completing)
1. REPORT NO.
EPA-600/3-79-037
3. RECIPIENT'S ACCESSION>NO.
4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE
TRACE METALS MONITORING AT TWO OCEAN DISPOSAL SITES
5. REPORT DATE
March 1979
6. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION CODE
7. AUTHOR(S)
Bruce H. Reynolds
8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NO.
9. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS
SAME AS BELOW
10. PROGRAM ELEMENT NO.
1BA608
11. CONTRACT/GRANT NO.
In-house
12. SPONSORING AGENCY NAME AND ADDRESS
Environmental Research Laboratory - Narragansett, RI
Office of Research and Development
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Narragansett, Rhode Island 02882
13. TYPE OF REPORT AND PERIOD COVERED
Final
14. SPONSORING AGENCY CODE
EPA/600/05
IB. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES
16. ABSTRACT
The areal distributions of the concentration of cadmium, copper, nickel, and
vanadium in sea scallop and ocean quahog tissue were examined in the vicinity of
two ocean disposal sites located off the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast on four cruises
conducted in 1974 and 1975. Incidental collections of the surf clams were also
made on the last cruise. Patterns of metals distribution show that (1) these metals
may be used as identification tags for the individual types of wastes disposed at
the two sites; (2) the distribution patterns of the metals content in shellfish may
be explained to a large extent by the regional current patterns; and (3) the known
toxicity of the wastes plus the demonstrated biological availability of the metals
contained therein, coupled with the existence of an abundant literature documenting
their toxicity in general, indicate that the wastes pose a significant threat to
marine biota in the vicinity of these disposal sites.
17.
KEY WORDS AND DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
DESCRIPTORS
b. IDENTIFIERS/OPEN ENDED TERMS C. COS AT I Field/Group
Waste disposal
Underwater environments
Aquatic animals
Bioaccumulation
Environmental biology
Heavy metals
Ocean disposal
06/F
08/A
18. DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT
RELEASE TO PUBLIC
19. SECURITY CLASS (This Report)
UNCLASSIFIED
21. NO. OF PAGES
72
2O. SECURITY CLASS (Thispage)
UNCLASSIFIED
22. PRICE
EPA Form 2220-1 (9-73)
64
4USOPO: 1979 — 657-060/1644
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