14 



private project areas (as well as elevated levels of Zn in some samples collected from NE 

 Petroleum) indicated that sediments were not suitable for open water disposal unless 

 capped or subjected to biological testing (Appendix A Tables 1 through 7; ranges of PAHs 

 reported here have not been normalized to TOC). The concentrations of individual PAHs 

 in the inner channel sediments ranged from <0.03 to 2.39 ppm; outer channel sediments 

 ranged from < 0.02 to 1.07 ppm. Sediments from Wyatt Incorporated had higher 

 concentrations of individual PAHs in the Pink Tank berthing area, up to 8.70 ppm, 

 requiring the capping of all sediments in comparison to sediments sampled from the Arco 

 berthing area which contained concentrations of PAHs ranging from 0.08 to 3.71 ppm. 

 Approximately 3,800 m 3 from this area were considered suitable for open- water disposal. 

 Other ranges for individual PAH compounds present above the detection limit were 1) Gulf 

 Oil, 0.12 to 8.75 ppm; 2) Mobil Oil, 0.05 to 11.4 ppm; 3) Northeast Petroleum, 0.03 to 

 4.66 ppm; and 4) the New Haven Terminal, 0.09 to 6.52 ppm. 



2.3 Bioaccumulation/Bioassay Tests 



If sediment chemistry data indicate elevated levels of contaminants, bioassay and 

 bioaccumulation testing are required. Permittees can, at this point, opt to select capping as 

 opposed to paying for this expensive testing procedure which may indicate the need to cap 

 anyway (EPA/US ACE 1991). Whole sediment bioassays must include three species from 

 three different phyla: a crustacean, a polychaete, and a bivalve, and bioaccumulation 

 testing must use the survivors of the bioassay test. Data are used to determine whether or 

 not capping need be imposed as a permit restriction (EPA/US ACE 1991). 



The Tier III benthic-bioaccumulation tests provide for the determination of 

 bioavailability through 10-day exposure tests if all contaminants of concern are metals or 

 28-day exposure tests if any contaminants of concern are organic or organometallic 

 compounds (EPA/US ACE 1991). The decision to cap sediments from the inner harbor 

 federal channel was based on the results of the 28-day Ampelisca bioassay which had a 

 significant mortality compared to the reference samples. 



Results of the Ampelisca bioassay showed survival in the inner harbor was 51 %, 

 which was 36% lower than the reference survival of 87%. This suitability determination 

 was conservative based on the current understanding of the Ampelisca toxicity test. 

 Survival of Nereis and Macoma in test sediments (28 days) was not significantly different 

 from reference results based on analysis of preliminary laboratory data. Bioaccumulation 

 in Nereis and Macoma was also not significantly different from reference samples based on 

 analysis of preliminary data (Lawless 1991). Biological testing was not pursued for the 

 private projects because of the availability of capping material if dredging was completed 

 in conjunction with the federal navigation channel project. 



Monitoring Surveys of the New Haven Capping Project, 1993-1994 



