USGS
 Environmental Geochemistry and Sediment Quality in Lake Pontchartrain

Appendix B
Alert Range Table

Ranges of dry bulk sediment concentrations applicable to estuarine and coastal sediments (in µg/g).

Element Soil SQG 2
ERL 3 		SQG 2
ERM 4 		Low alert
level 5 		High alert
level 5, 6
Ag 0.05 1 3.7 0.02 3.7
Al 71000     7000 100000
As 6 8.2 70 0.5 70
B 20     5 150
Ba 500     50 1000
Be 0.4     0.1 6
Ca7 15000     2000 100000
Cd 0.45 1.2 9.6 0.04 9.6
Co 8     0.5 120
Cr 70 81 370 4 370
Cu 30 34 270 2 270
Fe 40000     2000 100000
Hg 0.06 0.15 0.71 0.01 0.71
K 14000     1000 40000
Mg 5000     2000 40000
Mo 1.2     0.5 18
Na 5000     3000 50000
Ni 50 20.9 51.6 3 50
P8 800     200 25000
Pb (14) 46.7 218 2 218
S 700     300 30000
Sb 1     0.2 15
Se 0.4     0.05 6
Sn (2.2)     0.2 25
Si 330000     10000 480000
Tl 0.2     0.05 3
U 2     0.5 10
V 90     5 350
Zn 90 150 410 5 410
Corg 20000     1000 50000
Norg 2000     200 5000

Notes

  1. Natural soils are taken as the earth materials most closely resembling uncontaminated estuarine sediments (from Bowen, 1979).
  2. Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQG) for bulk sediment elemental concentrations.
  3. ERL refers to Toxic Effects-Range Low, from Long et al, 1995.
  4. ERM refers to Toxic Effects-Range Medium, from Long et al, 1995.
  5. Refers to concentration range limits normally found in natural, uncontaminated sediments, based on standard geochemical reference publications (Wedepohl, 1978 and references cited therein, and Bowen, 1979), and range found in Atlantic continental shelf drill cores (Manheim & Commeau, 1984, and Commeau and Manheim, 1984).
  6. Estimated sediment screening values from USEPA (1996), Table A-2. Many of these values are the same as ERM values. Approximate screening values for elements not given in USEPA (1996) are estimated from upper 10 percentile of NOAA NST national sediment monitoring data set (Cantillo, 1995).
  7. Does not include carbonate-rich environments in south Florida.
  8. Does not include sediment from phosphorite rich areas.
Appendix Index
A. Data Dictionary
B. Alert Range Tables
C. Consolidated Data Table
D. Sediment Database
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