Evaluation of dredged material proposed for ocean disposal from Eastchester Project Area, New York

The objective of the Eastchester project (Federal Project [FP] No. 6) was to evaluate proposed dredged material from the Eastchester project area in the Hutchinson River to determine its suitability for unconfined ocean disposal at the Mud Dump Site. Eastchester was one of seven waterways that the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers-New York District (USACE-NYD) requested the Battelle/Marine Sciences Laboratory (MSL) to sample and evaluate for dredging and disposal in March 1994. The evaluation of proposed dredged material from the Eastchester project area consisted of bulk sediment chemical analyses, chemical analyses of dredging site water and elutriate, water- column and benthic acute toxicity tests, and bioaccumulation studies. Eighteen individual sediment core samples collected from the Eastchester project area were analyzed for grain size, moisture content, and total organic carbon (TOC). Two composite sediment samples, representing the upstream and lower reaches of the area proposed for dredging, were analyzed for bulk density, specific gravity, metals, chlorinated pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and 1,4- dichlorobenzene. Dredging site water and elutriate water, which is prepared from the suspended-particulate phase (SPP) of the two Eastchester sediment composites, were analyzed for metals, pesticides, and PCBS. An additional 1 1 composite samples were created for the USACE-New England Division (USACE-NED) using the same 18 Eastchester core samples but combined into different composites. These composites were analyzed for metals, chlorinated pesticides, PCB congeners, PAHS, and 1,4-dichlorobenzene. Water-column or SPP toxicity tests were performed along with bioaccumulation tests