The National Shipbuilding Research Program: Contaminated Sediment Management Guide for NSRP Shipyards. Appendix 3: Assessment Technologies

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that about 10 percent of the sediment underlying U.S. lakes, rivers, and bays is sufficiently contaminated with toxic chemicals to pose potential risks. In 1990, EPA was requested to create a national program to address contaminated sediments. In 1997, EPA completed "The Incidence and Severity of Sediment Contamination in Surface Waters of the United States," a report to Congress. In April 1998, EPA released the "Contaminated Sediment Management Strategy" (CSMS). The National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP) Project N1-96-02, "Follow the Development and Analyze the Impact of the Federal Guidelines for Sediment Management," was awarded to accomplish the following: trace the development of the EPA's CSMS and other sediment management-related activities, identify their impacts on the shipbuilding and repair industry, and develop a "Contaminated Sediment Management Guide for NSRP Shipyards." The Management Guide includes 5 appendices that are accessioned separately (Appendix 1: Index of Documents Related to Sediment Management, Appendix 2: Shipyard Survey, Appendix 3: Assessment Technologies, Appendix 4: Removal Technologies, and Appendix 5: Treatment Technologies). This document, Appendix 3, briefly reviews the environmental regulations relating to contaminated sediments and current sediment assessment tools. It also contains a 24-page chapter that describes procedures for collecting sediment samples for an integrated sediment assessment (physical, chemical, and biological). Topics discussed include the sediment sampling vessel; field positioning methods; sediment sampling procedures; field processing of sediment samples for physical and chemical analyses, benthic community analyses, and toxicity testing; and sediment characterization by remote sensing. Basic procedures for the physical and chemical characterization of sediments also are included.