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A NATIONAL COASTAL ASSESSMENT OF COASTAL SEDIMENT CONDITION
Citation:
Summers, J K. A NATIONAL COASTAL ASSESSMENT OF COASTAL SEDIMENT CONDITION. Presented at SETAC Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD, Nov. 11-15, 2001.
Description:
One element of the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program's National Coastal Assessment is to estimate the current status, extent, changes and trends in the condition of the Nation's coastal sediments on a national basis. Based on NCA monitoring activities from 1999-2001, 100% of the nation's estuarine waters (at over 2500 locations) were sampled focusing on suites of measurements describing the levels of sediment contamination, sediment toxicity, and benthic condition. Estuarine monitoring was based on a probability-based
sampling design implemented over a 60-day window during July-September. The results of monitoring represent the first National Coastal Report Card delineating the condition of the Nation's estuarine resources. In that report, the condition of the Nation's estuarine sediments was determined to be poor with enrichment from human sources of 40%, 45%, and 75% of estuarine sediments for metals, PCBs and pesticides, respectively. Over 100 contaminants were measured from about 1000 locations throughout the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the
United States from 1990 through 1995. Ten to 29% of estuarine sediments along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts had concentrations of at least one contaminant that was greater than ERL guidance values. Most exceedances of ERM guidelines occurred in the Northeast while many locations in Gulf of Mexico estuaries displayed concentrations of five or more contaminants exceeding the ERL values. Approximately 10% of estuarine sediments along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts were toxic to amphipod test organisms. Of the 22% of estuarine sediments that portrayed poor benthic community condition, the majority (about 65%) were
associated with sediment contamination and toxicity.