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and the Marine Science Research Center, in their report show evidence 
of strong concentrations of heavy metals, such as chromium, lead, and 
copper. In an article appearing in the July 26 edition of the Washing- 
ton Post, a report made in Sweden discussed the effects of mercury con- 
centrations in fish and its severe effects on public health. What I find 
most alarming from these various reports is the rate at which we are 
finding out how we have endangered our public health with substances 
we know little about. It appears, Mr. Chairman, that we are actually 
moving at an unprecedented rate to destroy our natural marine food 
sources. 
According to Mr. Grant Gross, a research oceanographer for the 
Marine Science Research Center at the State University of New 
York at Stony Brook, the average waste solid discharge per person 
in New York City for 1 day is 4.5 pounds. Annually this would 
mean with a current population of 9 million that 8.6 million tons 
of wasted solids, and this is excluding rubbish and floatable debris, 
is being dumped in New York Harbor. This dumping is apparently 
the largest singie source of sediment entering directly into the At- 
lantic Ocean from North America. 
The amount of waste solids discharged by the New York metro- 
politan region is comparable to that of the world’s major rivers as a 
source of sediment entering the coastal ocean. Hven greater though 
is the fact that the New York metropolitan region may be the largest 
source of sediment entering the whole North Atlantic Ocean, exclud- 
ing the Amazon and Mississippi. We must realize that the sediment 
from most of the rivers in the North Atlantic area never reach the 
ocean, and usually settles in its estuaries, but New York Harbor 
deposits it on the Continental Shelf. 
In the Smithsonian report which was prepared at the request of 
the corps, it states that, “there is a high incidence of fin rot disease 
(among Atlantic fish) that has apparently originated in the New 
York Bight area.” The report in its conclusion states that the disease 
might possibly spread throughout the entire fish population and 
strongly urges that this be given “high priorities.” 
The Gross report in support of this conclusion goes on to warn 
that there are high concentrations of toxic and cancer-causing ele- 
ments, which if introduced into the food chain will in effect become 
a serious hazard to public health. The Gross report did not elaborate 
on the fact that it may have entered the food chain, however the 
Smithsonian report states that, “tissue analyses for heavy metals on 
a worm and clam indicate concentrations of chromium and lead at 
higher levels than those acceptable to the FWPCA.” 
Contrary to what those reports say the corps has failed to heed 
the warning of giving the problem, “high priorities.” This is definitely 
a problem that cannot be ignored or dealt with in an indifferent atti- 
tude. Not thinking about it won’t make it go away. At one time the 
corps did give it some thought but in defense of its obvious failure 
to act, decided that these reports were only preliminary and were 
reserving opinion until complete reports were filed. Again Mr. Chair- 
man, this is bureaucracy at its best. 
We must work with what we have at our hands now. Let me 
reiterate then. We know there exists toxic proportions of chromium, 
