694 
proportion of contaminants in ocean dumped sewage sludge that are 
added (1-10% of the total, except for PCBs) when compared to the 
total apex contaminant load, 2) the magnitude of contaminants added 
to the apex by the Hudson-Raritan Estuary plume, 3) the magnitude 
of contaminants in ocean dumped dredged material and the close 
proximity of the dredged material dumpsite to the sewage sludge 
dumpsite, and 4) the location of the Christiaensen Basin: topo- 
graphical low in between the dredged material and sewage sludge 
dumpsites which favors erosion off both sites into the basin. 
Pathogens/Disease: 
A significant fraction of the pathogens reaching the sediments 
(and shellfish now banned from commerce) of the inner Bight i. 
derived from sewage sludge dumped at the 12-Mile site and outfall 
sewer discharges (Mueller et al., 1976). However, it would appear 
that for the beaches of the inner Bight, the major source of patho- 
genic pollution is the Hudson-Raritan estuary; sludge dumping at 
the 12-Mile site appears to have no measurable effect on water 
quality at the beaches, insofar as the potential for enteric 
diseases is concerned (O'Connor et al., in press a). 
In May 1970, a circular area with a radius of 11/km (6 n mi) 
centered on the sewage sludge dumpsite was closed to shellfishing 
by the FDA. Bacterially polluted dredged spoils were also found 
spread over 65 km? within this circular area. The median total 
coliform and fecal coliform bacteria values (MPN/100 ml) for a 
bottom sediment station at the center of the sewage sludge dumpsite 
were found to be 540,000 and 33,000 respectively (Verber, 1976). 
Contaminant Levels 
With respect to the Bight as a whole, the extent to which 
sewage sludge contributes to observed environmental loadings, body 
burdens, and ecological effects for a given contaminant, appears to 
be roughly in proportion to the percentage of the contaminant 
introduced with sludge. 
