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seven other municipal sources in the New York metropolitan area, 

 as well as the total combined loads from the current users of 

 the 12-Mile Site. Table 2 (Table 6-22 in the City's 12-Mile 

 Site comment document) compares those combined estimates with 

 the total individual contaminant loads from the other measurable 

 sources of contaminants to the apex. The estimates in Table 2 

 illustrate the small contaminant loadings to the apex from 

 sewage sludge disposal at the 12-Mile Site compared to the 

 inputs from the Hudson-Rar itan estuary and from dredged material 

 disposal. As shown in Table 3 (table 6-23 in the City's comment 

 document) and when expressed as percentage contribution relative 

 to the total apex loads, sewage sludge disposal by all 12-Mile 

 Site permittees, combined, accounts for only about 2-11 percent 

 of the total individual contaminant loads. For example, sewage 

 sludge disposal currently accounts for approximately 0.2 percent 

 of the fecal coliforms, 3 percent of the PCBs, 3 percent of the 

 mercury, 8 percent of the cadmium, 9 percent of the lead, and 11 

 percent of the copper entering the apex annually from the land. 

 It is also important to note that these calculations ignore the 

 considerable quantities of these heavy metals transported into 

 and through the apex as natural constituents of ocean water. 



It should also be noted that these estimates were prepared in 

 mid-1982; therefore, they reflect the sludge quality data 

 available at the time and the quantities of sewage sludge 

 disposed at the 12-Mile Site during 1981. Since these comments 



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