Marine Ecological Risk Assessment at Naval Construction Battalion Center,Davisville, Rhode Island. Phase 1

摘要

The Naval Construction Battalion Center (NCBC) in Davisville, Rhode Island, hasbeen the subject of a joint ecological research program by the Navy and Environmental Protection Agency. Allen Harbor, a small embayment of Narragansett Bay adjacent to NCBC, was used to develop research and monitoring methods for ecological risk assessment. Two sites on the National Priorities List were of particular concern: (1) a 15-acre landfill used from 1946 to 1972 for the disposal of such wastes as solvents, PCB-contaminated oils, preservatives, sewage sludge, chromic acid, and construction rubble; and (2) a cement-lined pit that from 1960 to 1974 was the depository of calcium hypochlorite, chloride, and decontaminating solution. Phase I of the study characterizes the ecology, natural resources, sediment, and water quality. A preliminary ecological risk assessment is developed. Exposure to and the effects of contamination are measured at both subtidal and intertidal stations. A T-shaped transect of stations projecting from the mouth of the harbor into Narragansett Bay proper is established to determine if measurable levels of contaminants and effects are reaching the Bay. A series of mid-Narragansett Bay stations provide a reference for comparing effects within Allen Harbor.