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Data Series 867

Prepared in cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

Characterization of Selected Bed-Sediment-Bound Organic and Inorganic Contaminants and Toxicity, Barnegat Bay and Major Tributaries, New Jersey, 2012

By Kristin M. Romanok, Timothy J. Reilly, Anthony R. Lopez, John J. Trainor, Michelle L. Hladik, Jacob K. Stanley, and Daniel Farrar

Thumbnail of and link to report PDF (1.8 MB)Abstract

A study of bed-sediment toxicity and organic and inorganic contaminants was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). Bed-sediment samples were collected once from 22 sites in Barnegat Bay and selected major tributaries during August–September 2012 and analyzed for toxicity and a suite of organic and inorganic contaminants by the USGS and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Sampling sites were selected to coincide with an existing water-quality monitoring network used by the NJDEP and others in order to evaluate water-quality conditions in Barnegat Bay and the surrounding watershed. Two of the 22 sites are reference sites and are within or adjacent to the study area; bed-sediment samples from reference sites allow for comparisons of results for the Barnegat Bay watershed to results from less affected settings within the region. Toxicity testing was conducted by exposing the estuarine amphipod Leptocheirus plumulosus and the freshwater amphipod Hyalella azteca to sediments for 28 days, and the percent survival, difference in biomass, and individual dry weights were measured. Reproductive effects also were evaluated for estuarine samples. Bed-sediment samples from four sites within Barnegat Bay were subjected to a toxicity identification evaluation to determine probable causes of toxicity. Samples were analyzed for a suite of 94 currently-used pesticides, 21 legacy pesticides, 24 trace elements, 40 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, 7 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) as Arochlor mixtures, and 145 individual PCB congeners. Concentrations of detected compounds were compared to sediment-quality guidelines, where appropriate.

First posted August 7, 2014

For additional information, contact:
Director, New Jersey Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
3450 Princeton Pike, Suite 110
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
http://nj.usgs.gov/

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Suggested citation:

Romanok, K.M., Reilly, T.J., Lopez, A.R., Trainor, J.J., Hladik, M.L., Stanley, J.K., and Farrar, Daniel, 2014, Characterization of selected bed-sediment-bound organic and inorganic contaminants and toxicity, Barnegat Bay and major tributaries, New Jersey, 2012: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 867, 51 p., https://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ds867.

ISSN 2327-638X (online)



Contents

Acknowledgments

Abstract

Introduction

Methods

Bed-Sediment-Bound Organic and Inorganic Contaminants and Toxicity

Summary

References Cited

Appendix 1. Quality Assurance Project Plan

Appendix 2. Initial weight data for the estuarine amphipod, Leptocheirus plumulosus, and the freshwater amphipod, Hyalella azteca, in bed-sediment samples from the Barnegat Bay and tributaries, August–September, 2012

Appendix 3. Endpoint data for the 28-day sediment chronic toxicology study for the estuarine amphipod Leptocheirus plumulosus in bed-sediment samples collected from sites within Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, August–September, 2012

Appendix 4. Endpoint data for the 28-day sediment chronic toxicology study for the freshwater amphipod Hyalella azteca in bed-sediment samples collected from selected tributaries to Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, August–September, 2012


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