POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBON AND PETROLEUM HYDROCARBON CONTAMINATION IN SEDIMENT FROM THE NEWARK BAY ESTUARY, NEW-JERSEY

The presence of numerous industrial and municipal sources such as form er creosote wood preserving facilities, petroleum storage and refinery facilities, paint and chemical manufacturers, combined sewer overflow s, and sewage treatment facilities along the shores of Newark Bay, New Jersey and its major tributaries suggests the potential for widesprea d contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and petrole um hydrocarbons. In this study, the concentrations and distributions o f 19 PAHs and total extractable petroleum hydrocarbon (TEPH) were dete rmined in 213 sediment samples obtained from 58 sediment cores collect ed between November 1998 and March 1993 from the Arthur Kill, Elizabet h River, Hackensack River, Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, Upper New York B ay, and Rahway River. Chronological profiles of PAH and TEPH depositio n from pre-1930 to the present were determined in each sediment core u sing Cs-137 and (210)pb radioisotope measurements. The concentrations of total PAHs (tPAH) and individual PAHs were compared to National Oce anic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) benchmark sediment effects- range median (ER-M) values. The objectives of this study were to: (a) determine the spatial and temporal distributions of PAHs in sediments; (b) identify their possible sources; and (c) assess the potential for sediment toxicity within the estuary. The results indicate elevated c oncentrations of PAHs and TEPH in surface and buried sediments through out the estuary, partic ularly in the Elizabeth River, the Arthur Kill , acid in the Passaic River above the Dundee Dam and below the Jackson Street Bridge. Sediments collected from ship berths at Port Newark an d Port Elizabeth in Newark Bay were also found to contain elevated lev els of PAHs and TEPH. The concentrations of PAHs and TEPH in sediment generally increase with depth throughout the estuary. Comparisons to N OAA ER-M values indicate that the concentrations of many PAHs in surfa ce and buried sediments at several locations in the estuary pose a sig nificant hazard to aquatic organisms. Radiodating of sediment cores re veals that the highest concentrations of PAHs, and the greatest potent ial hazards to aquatic biota, occur in sediments deposited during the 1950s. Although the major inputs of PAHs are probably combustion sourc es and urban runoff entering the estuary through combined sewer overfl ows and storm drains, the unusually high concentrations of PAHs and TE PH found in some sediments may be best explained by point source input s or catastrophic oil spills.