SECTION II. EFFECTS OF OCEAN DUMPING IN OTHER AREAS 



At least 98 estuarine and coastal ocean areas in the United States 

 and five in Canada are used for the disposal of dredge spoils (Gross, 

 1971). The total annual volume of dredge spoils disposed of in the 

 marine environment, is estimated at 7.3 x 10^ tons per year and accounts 

 for about 80 percent by weight of all wastes being dumped in the ocean 

 (Council on Environmental Quality, 1970). The remaining 20 percent is 

 primarily treated and untreated sewage. Gross indicates that along the 

 U. S. Atlantic coast, there are 59 active waste disposal sites, four 

 more are located in Canadian waters, 20 sites are actively used along 

 the U. S. Pacific coast, in addition to one site in the Canadian Strait 

 of Georgia. Puerto Rico and Alaska each have two active sites. About 

 95 waste disposal sites are in the Great Lakes. These figures do not 

 include a great number of ocean outfalls that discharge municipal efflu- 

 ents and industrial wastes into the waters of the country. 



Only in the last few years has ocean waste disposal become a problem 

 of national concern. Literature review indicates that there have been 

 few comprehensive studies concerned with the effects of waste disposal 

 on offshore marine environments. It is difficult to correlate the re- 

 sults of different studies since the hydrography, water depth, sediment 

 characteristics, and biota are often markedly different at each study 

 site. To allow the reader to assess similarities and differences of 

 the results of other studies with those of the Bight studies, a summary 

 of other known investigations is given. 



1. Rhode Island Sound 



Between December 1967 and September 1970, spoils from the Providence 

 Harbor dredging totaling 9 million cubic yards, were deposited outside 

 Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island Sound, 4 miles south of Newport, in 

 waters 96 to 100 feet deep. The spoil consisted of silts and compacted 

 sands . 



The disposal site was studied by the University of Rhode Island 

 (Saila et al, 1971) to determine physical changes in the dumping area 

 and the effect of spoil on marine organisms, and to predict the nature 

 of recovery of the area after dumping ceased. It was found that the 

 spoil centered in conical formations 16 to 18 feet high and 1 mile in 

 diameter, but patches of spoil were found a mile away from the dump site. 

 The study concluded that the direct effects of dumping on marine animals 

 appeared to be limited. Most mollusk species could reach the sediment 

 surface after shallow burial; less mobile forms were buried. High tur- 

 bidity values caused no observed increase in mortality. 



Fish and lobsters could withstand the high concentrations of suspended 

 sediments for short periods. Lobstering was the least affected fishery 

 in the area; good catches were made on the perimeter of the dump. Ocean 

 quahogs were killed by burial near the center of the area, but not on 

 the perimeter. 



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