• In tests of growth, 13 of 17 samples were toxic to the polychaete Armandia brevis and 8 of 17 

 samples were toxic to the sand dollar Dendraster excentricus. Also, 8 of 9 samples were toxic in tests 

 of survival with the freshwater amphipod Diporeia spp. 



Spatial Patterns in Toxicity 



• Toxicity extended throughout much of the study area and no clear boundary or limit to toxicity was 

 apparent. 



• The data from each of the individual tests were correlated with each other to different degrees and 

 indicated overlap in the patterns of toxicity. 



• 100% mortality of amphipods was observed in samples from Newark Bay, Arthur Kill, and the 

 East River. 



• Regions of the study area in which highly toxic sediments were collected included the East River, 

 the vicinity of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, Kill van Kull near Shooter's Island, Arthur Kill, central 

 Newark Bay, lower Passaic River, and Sandy Hook Bay. 



• Sediments that were consistently not toxic or the least toxic in all tests were collected in the lower 

 Hudson River off Manhattan Island, in the center of upper New York Harbor, in southern Raritan Bay, 

 and in some regions of north-central Raritan Bay. 



• Based upon the distance from the metropolitan New York City area, the sediments collected in the 

 mouth of the estuary and New York Bight were expected not to be toxic or among the least toxic. 

 However, some of the samples from these areas were toxic in some of the tests. 



• The relatively high toxicity observed in the East River generally diminished eastward into Long 

 Island Sound and southward into upper New York Harbor. 



• The relatively high toxicity in the lower Passaic River, Newark Bay, and Arthur Kill generally 

 diminished into central Raritan Bay. 



• The relatively high toxicity in innermost Sandy Hook Bay generally diminished into central Raritan 

 Bay and the mouth of the estuary. 



Spatial Extent of Toxicity. 



• Approximately 25% of the study area exhibited toxicity in the bivalve embryo survival tests; 30% 

 was toxic in the bivalve embryo development tests; 38% was toxic in the amphipod survival tests; and 

 approximately 39% of the area was toxic to microbial bioluminescence. Approximately 5.7% of the 

 area was toxic in all four of these tests. Since a probabalistic, random-stratified sampling design was 

 not used in Phase 1, the estimates of the spatial extent of toxicity may not be accurate. 



•Within the Newark Bay/lower Passaic River/lower Hackensack River/northern Arthur Kill region, 

 however, 85% of the area was toxic to amphipod survival. Since a probabalistic, random-stratified 

 sampling was used in Phase 2, the estimate of the spatial extent of toxicity in the Newark Bay area may 

 be much more accurate that the estimate for the entire survey area. 



Chemistry/Toxicity Relationships. 



• The chemistry/toxicity relationships differed among regions of the study area. 



• Toxicity to amphipod survival and microbial bioluminescence in samples from the East River and 

 vicinity was highly correlated with the concentrations of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). 

 The concentrations of these compounds in highly toxic samples often exceeded effects-based guide- 

 lines or toxicity thresholds. 



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