investigation of the same area however, at a different day, showed rever- 

 sal of previous high bacterial counts indicating that "short dumping" 

 does occur, but sporadically. 



Based on a 1966 shellfish program study, undertaken initially by FDA, 

 involving water sampling and the awareness of possible "short dumps," an 

 area of 6-mile radius around the sludge dump site has been closed to 

 shellfishing. Recently, other areas of the Bight have been closed by FDA 

 to the harvesting of surf clams because of poor water quality. Whether 

 the deterioration of coastal water quality is the result of ocean dump- 

 ing has not been documented. Well planned analyses of the coliform 

 bacteria content of shellfish from areas adjacent to the dumping sites 

 is pertinent and should be continued CSAC, 1972). 



Buelow et al, (1968) took counts of coliform bacteria in stored sludge, 

 prior to disposal. Such counts showed total coliforms in excess of 2.4 x 

 10^ per 100 ml, and fecal coliforms varying from 4.3 x 10^ to more than 

 2.4 X 10^ per 100 ml. 



SHL surveyed for coliform bacteria in the Bight, and found dense 

 populations of bacteria inside the sludge and spoil beds with decreasing 

 numbers away from the disposal areas CFig- 50). The source of these 

 bacteria, according to SHL was ocean dumping rather than outflow of 

 polluted Hudson River or estuarine waters. 



These values are high but considerably less than the values in 

 stored sludge reported by Buelow, and considerably less than some counts 

 taken in the Lower Bay of New York Harbor. The distribution of bacteria 

 showed little seasonal variation within each disposal area, suggesting 

 correlation with the dumping activities. The bacterial densities pre- 

 sent a distribution consistent with the dumping activity and the mixing 

 and dispersion patterns of the waters in this area (SAC, 1972). 



(2) Pathogens . SHL suggests that the existence of coliform 

 bacteria in the sediments and the waters of the Bight means also the 

 existence of pathogenic bacteria which may have a harmful effect on 

 marine life. No attempts have been made by SHL or any other investigators 

 to confirm and identify pathogenic bacteria in the area. Identification 

 studies are time consuming and difficult, but necessary in establishing 

 whether disease is transmitted in the marine environment of the Bight. 



(3) Other Micro-Organisms . Waste materials dumped in the Bight 

 are suspected to contain a large amount of petrochemicals. In these 

 petrochemicals, complex organic compounds may be included which may not 

 be biodegradable. If such organic compounds, particularly the "heavy end" 

 fractions made of large cyclic hydrocarbons, cannot be degraded and are 

 uptaken in the food chain, serious marine biological damage could occur. 

 Not only may these compounds be carcinogenic in character, but they may 

 also be interfering with chemical signals that are often necessary in the 

 marine predator-prey relationships. None of the investigations in the 

 Bight has yet included studies of Penicilliiim, Nocardia, Microccoccus, 



106 



