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Dr. ENGLER. No, sir. 
Mr. HuGues. OK. 
Dr. Byrne, on page 3 of your statement you bring the commit- 
tee’s attention to some of the conclusions of your work which was 
directed in the New York Bight. You indicate that your findings, 
based upon research over a period of time, has found that the 
sludge dumping does border the benthic communities in the area of 
some 240 square kilometers around the dump site and has a detect- 
able contribution to poor water quality. Then, you indicate that 
you also found a significant fraction of the bacteria, protozoa and 
viruses reaching the sediments of the inner bight is probably de- 
rived from sewage sludge. I wonder if you can tell me, are you talk- 
ing in terms of those viruses and bacteria finding their way into 
the seaweed and other substances? 
Dr. Byrne. Mr. Hughes, I would like to ask Captain Swanson to 
address that question as he is involved with that project and I 
think he can provide more details. 
Captain SwANSON. Congressman, basically, the material that we 
are talking about here is found in the fine, muddy sediments of the 
Christiansen Basin. 
Mr. HuGuHes. Well, are there any living organisms at all in the 
New York Bight? 
Captain SWANSON. Yes, sir. 
Mr. Hucues. Does it contain seaweed also? 
Captain Swanson. Not seaweed. We do see material building up 
in some cases in marine organisms, however. 
Mr. HuGues. Have your studies found that there have been any 
transfer of those viruses into the living organisms in the bight? 
Captain Swanson. I cannot answer that with respect to living or- 
ganisms. 
Mr. Huaues. I cannot believe that there is not some organisms 
like seaweed, for instance, that is in the New York bight area. You 
are saying that there is no such material in the bight? 
Captain Swanson. Not in the Christiansen Basin to any large 
extent. It is mostly fine, sediment material. 
Mr. Hucues. How about in the Philadelphia dump site that was 
phased out in 1980 where you found that in some of the living or- 
ganisms there were viruses present? Is there seaweed and other 
substances there? 
Captain SwANSon. I cannot answer with respect to seaweed. 
Mr. HuGues. Would it be fair to assume that we know that sea- 
weed which washes up on our beaches from time to time, as a 
result of storms, would contain any of those viruses? 
Captain Swanson. I do not think so. Most of the seaweed does 
not come from offshore. It comes from the estuarine and very near 
coastal areas. 
Mr. HuGues. You do not think that there is in the coastal area 
any seaweed or that type of material? 
Captain SwANSON. Certainly there are in the coastal area. I do 
not think there are extensive amounts in the vicinity of the dump 
site. 
Mr. HuGues. I see. 
Has anybody conducted any studies at NOAA on any of the 
transfer of these viruses or bacteria into the food chain at all? 
