Sediments, mussels, and fish livers from the Hudson-Raritan Estuary analyzed by NOAA as a part of 

 the NS&T Program consistently have contained relatively high concentrations of DDT, other pesti- 

 cides, PCBs, PAHs, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, nickel, tin, and other substances. The concen- 

 trations of these and other chemicals often were the highest or among the highest measured at about 

 250 sites nationwide (NOAA, 1987; 1988b; 1989; 1991; Long and Morgan, 1990). Samples with 

 particularly high concentrations of toxicants were collected near the Throg's Neck Bridge in western 

 Long Island Sound, in the upper New York Harbor near Ellis Island, and in central Raritan Bay. For 

 each of the analytes quantified, NOAA ranked the sediment sites sampled nationwide according to the 

 highest concentrations (NOAA, 1988b: O'Connor and Ehler, 1991; Robertson et al., 1991). Collec- 

 tively, the sediment and mussel samples from the Hudson/Raritan Estuary ranked the highest overall in 

 contaminant concentrations among the many estuaries sampled by the NS&T Program. The average 

 concentrations of several trace metals appeared to increase in mussel tissues during the period from 

 1986 through 1988 at several sites in the estuary, whereas the concentrations of several organic com- 

 pounds decreased during the same period (NOAA, 1989). Sediment samples collected at several sites 

 in 1986 and 1987 had relatively high concentrations of 13 toxicants, compared to concentrations na- 

 tionwide (NOAA, 1991). 



Potential for Toxicant Effects. Some of the sites sampled by the NS&T Program were determined to 

 have toxicant concentrations in sediments that equalled or exceeded known toxicity thresholds (O'Connor 

 and Ehler, 1991). Some of the samples with high chemical concentrations were collected within the 

 Hudson-Raritan Estuary (Gottholm et al., 1993). The concentrations of PAHs, PCBs, mercury, silver, 

 arsenic, and zinc mostly frequently equalled or exceeded the thresholds nationwide. 



Long and Morgan (1990) ranked the NS&T Program sites according to their potential to cause toxicity 

 in sediments attributable to elevated concentrations of analytes quantified by the Program. Based upon 

 available data from laboratory-spiked bioassay studies, equilibrium-partitioning models, and matching 

 chemical and biological data from field surveys, they determined the ranges in chemical concentra- 

 tions that were associated with adverse effects. The Effects Range-Low (ERL) value was identified as 

 the 10th percentile of the database associated with adverse biological effects. The Effects Range- 

 Median (ERM) was identified as the 50th percentile (median) of these data. Long and Morgan (1990) 

 then compared the ambient data from the NS&T Program sites with the ERL and ERM values. Those 

 sites that equalled or exceeded the effects ranges for the most analytes nationwide were ranked highest. 



Among the 200+ sites that they evaluated, Long and Morgan (1990) ranked site HRUB in New York 

 Upper Harbor as number 1, the highest. Site LITN near Throg's Neck was ranked number 3, site 

 NYSH in Sandy Hook Bay was ranked number 5, and site HRLB in lower New York Harbor was 

 ranked number 7. All six of the sediment sampling sites located within the estuary were ranked among 

 the top sites nationwide in potential for toxicity. The concentrations of as many as 20 analytes in 

 Hudson-Raritan Estuary sites equalled or exceeded the respective effects ranges. The concentrations 

 of many PAHs were expecially highly elevated compared to the effects ranges. 



Breteler (1984) estimated that numerous trace metals, petroleum hydrocarbons, pesticides, and haloge- 

 nated hydrocarbons posed ecological and/or human health risks in the Hudson-Raritan Estuary. Squibb 

 et al. (1991) compiled and evaluated existing contaminant data from analyses of water, tissues, and 

 sediments from the Hudson-Raritan Estuary performed during the 1980s. They compared the ambient 

 data with several different water quality standards for the protection of marine life, wildlife, and human 

 health. Many trace metals, pesticides, industrial solvents, PCBs, and aromatic hydrocarbons equalled 

 or exceeded these standards in water samples collected in the estuary. Similarly, they compared the 



