concentrated by some marine organisms. Some of these elements may be 

 important in the skeletal mineralogy of these organisms, others may be 

 important for other biological reasons. Some marine animals may preferen- 

 tially concentrate one element over another. The body fluids of many 

 crustaceans, for example, contain copper as hemocyanin, a respiratory 

 pigment. High concentrations of certain heavy metals in the marine 

 environment may have a long-term adverse effect. The toxicity potential 

 of heavy metals and the biochemical uptake mechanism of marine organisms 

 depend on many physical and chemical factors which are not well under- 

 stood. 



Total concentrations of heavy metals in the sediments, in the water 

 column, and in organisms, are of little value in assessing the impact on 

 marine life. The concentrations of heavy metals, such as lead, chromium, 

 copper, antimony, zinc, silver, nickel, in the area of the dumping grounds 

 exceed concentrations of these elements in other undisturbed regions of 

 the Bight. The effects of these heavy metals on the marine populations 

 of this area have been difficult to assess. 



Demersal and bottom-dwelling finfishes sampled by SHL within and at 

 the periphery of the sludge dumping grounds, come into direct or in- 

 direct contact with various waste pollutants including heavy metals. 



The question is raised if any of the heavy metals contained in the 

 sludge are absorbed by the fish. Preliminary results of SHL indicate 

 that some fish collected in the area of the dumping grounds have high 

 levels of heavy metals in their tissues. Levels of nickel, chromium, 

 and lead in fish and other organisms examined exceed those listed by 

 the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration (1968) as normal for 

 marine animals. It has not been demonstrated that high levels of heavy 

 metals adversly affect the health of fishes, although it is suspected. 

 Pippy and Hare (1969) claimed that certain metals predispose fish to 

 disease, but failed to show how. 



Of several hundred (bony fish) analyzed for mercury by SHL, weakfish 

 ( Cynoscion regalis) with fin-rot disease had the greatest amount of 

 mercury in their tissues. Compared with healthy weakfish collected off 

 the Virginia coast, which had an average of 0.31 ppm in liver tissue, 

 diseased fish from the N.Y. Bight had an average of 0.62 ppm mercury in 

 muscle tissue and 0.54 ppm in the liver. SHL data are insufficient to 

 correlate incidence of fin-rot in some finfishes to the heavy metals of 

 the waste disposal grounds. According to Jeffries (1968), the infection 

 can be caused by restricting the movement of fish. 



Other bioassays in the laboratory have produced conflicting results. 

 Wilder (1952) reported that in aquaria lined with copper, zinc and lead, 

 marine organisms died in 1, 9 and 20 days respectively. 



SHL bioassays with lobsters ( Homarus americanus) , held on sediments 

 from the sewage sludge area for 29 days, showed that these animals 

 developed necrotic areas on their gills and died. Chemical analyses of 



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