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An additional source of pollution is atmospheric fallout to the New 
York Bight waters from industrial stack emissions, automobile 
exhausts, fossil fuel combustion, and other incineration sources. 
In addition, ocean dumping of municipal and industrial wastes occurs 
at federally designated waste disposal sites (i.e., dredged material 
dumpsite, sewage sludge dumpsite [12-Mile Site], cellar dirt dumpsite, 
and acid waste dumpsite). 
- Ocean-dumped sewage sludge contributes a minor fraction (generally 
1-10 percent) of the total annual mass contaminant loads to the New 
York Bight. Estimates published by the National Oceanic and Atmos-— 
pheric Administration (NOAA) in 1976 indicate that the major inputs 
of trace metals, suspended solids, nutrients, and coliform bacteria, 
originate from the Hudson-Raritan estuary. Those wastes reach the 
ocean in the high volume discharge of river water from the estuary to 
the Bight, and in the sediments dredged from the New York Harbor and 
redeposited at the existing dredge spoil dumpsite. Recent calcula- 
tions generally are consistent with NOAA’s earlier estimates. The 
most current data also indicate that sewage sludge is a minor contri- 
butor of synthetic organic compounds such as PCBs. 
Environmental Considerations 
« The much publicized 1976 Long Island beach pollution incident was 
studied extensively by federal, state, and local authorities to deter- 
mine the sources of the floatables. NOAA’s summary report indicates 
