DISSOLVED METAL CONCENTRATIONS AND SUSPENDED SEDIMENT IN HAMILTON HARBOR

Hamilton Harbour sediments are elevated in metal and organic contamina nts, resulting from 75 years of industrial and municipal discharge. Th ese contaminants could be released from the sediments during resuspens ion events caused by strong winds or dredging operations. We predict t he metal concentrations in the water column that would be found during resuspension, using an equilibrium adsorption model. Confirmation of the model was made experimentally using small reactors with spikes of metal added to the aqueous phase. Four different Hamilton Harbour site s were sampled and used in the experiments. The time to reach steady s tate was determined as 2 days or less after the resuspension event. Re sults from the experiences yielded aqueous phase concentration of equi valent to or lower than concentrations in Hamilton Harbour water. We c onclude that the concentration of metals in the water column of Hamilt on Harbour is not elevated by resuspension of surficial sediments.