environmental description of the New York Bight dumping grounds than had 

 been available. These data suggest that the large volume of wastes being 

 dumped in the Bight and frequency of dumping has changed the marine 

 environment of the dumping grounds and adjacent areas. The possibility 

 of pathogenic and chemical damage to finfish and shellfish from the 

 disposal of waste materials, is a point which has not been answered but 

 which carries health implications requiring extensive field and laboratory 

 investigations . 



Complex physical, chemical, and biological processes and interactions, 

 which are not completely understood, are at work and are responsible for 

 the accumulation, dispersion dilution, biodegradation, or removal of 

 wastes materials and their components from the marine environment of the 

 New York Bight. Although preliminary research work has contributed to a 

 basic understanding of the environmental impact of dumping in the present 

 waste disposal grounds of the New York Bight, it has left many questions 

 unanswered and has raised new questions. This work has assumed that most 

 of the observed adverse effects on the marine environment of the Bight 

 are the direct result of ocean dumping, while other important sources 

 of pollution are known to exist. Although it is difficult to assign 

 responsibility to any class of pollutants, untreated sewage from coastal 

 sources, agricultural and urban runoff, atmospheric precipitants, thermal 

 discharges, and oil spills may all be responsible for adverse environmental 

 effects in the New York Bight. The areal extent and magnitude of change 

 resulting from ocean dumping and from other sources of pollution in the 

 Bight remain to be demonstrated, separated, and quantified. 



Due to the limited scope and funding of the short-term investigations 

 completed to date, the long history of waste disposal, and the absence of 

 base-line data, the basic mechanisms by which ecological changes occur 

 in the marine environment of New York Bight remain essentially imknown. 

 Comprehensive, long-term, interdisciplinary studies will be required to 

 determine the extent of these changes. 



On the basis of data obtained to date, it is not recommended that the 

 dumping grounds of the New York Bight be shifted to new locations on or 

 beyond the Continental Shelf without adequately studying the long-term 

 effects of waste disposal on the marine environment. 



When the use of present sites is discontinued, the sites should be 

 studied thoroughly for several years to assess the degree and rate of 

 changes. Such a program could yield much data on the recovery of the 

 present spoil grounds, and provide information useful in managing waste 

 disposal. 



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