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ESTUARINE HAZARD ASSESSMENT IN THE PENSACOLA BAY SYSTEM
Citation:
Lewis, M A. ESTUARINE HAZARD ASSESSMENT IN THE PENSACOLA BAY SYSTEM. Presented at Annual BARC Scientific Symposium, Pensacola, FL, May 8, 2002.
Description:
ersonnel from the Gulf Ecology Division have conducted a multiyear evaluation of the environmental condition of areas in the Pensacola Bay System affected by point and nonpoint contamination. Areas of study included coastal rivers, residential canals, bayous and bays impacted by wastewaters, Superfund sites, golf courses, dredging, and urban runoff. The objectives of the study were to identify the relevant and cost-effective diagnostic methods needed to analyze the extent, magnitude and cause of environmental impairment in
near-coastal areas and to determine the relative impacts of the contaminant sources. This presentation addresses the latter objective. The study included the use of a variety of chemical and biological methods such as analysis of water and sediment chemical quality, toxicity, tissue quality, community composition of flora and fauna and genotoxicity. Statistically significant effects were observed based on many of the parameters when compared to reference areas. Most impacts, however, occurred in near-field areas. There was considerable spatial and temporal difference in the data which often resulted in the lack of consistent data patterns and a general inability to consistently rank the different contaminant sources. This finding confirmed
the difficulty in determining the effects of anthropogenic activities in coastal areas and the increased level of effort that is needed relative to other ecosystems to determine these effects.