Regional Screening Method for Classifying Pollutant Status of Coastal Waters

摘要

A regional assessment method has been developed to classify estuaries on the basis of their degree of pollution enabling resource managers to prioritize clean-up and future research efforts. The method is based on two key components for each pollutant of interest: an estimate of the pollutant's loading rates into an estuary or region, and information regarding its fate and effects in the environment. Surface water and atmospheric inputs of pollutants are examined. Methods to quantify the uncertainty factors associated with these estimates are suggested. A demonstration of the assessment method focuses on polychlorinated biphenyls as a representative pollutant and on Winyah Bay, South Carolina, as a specific estuarine system. Further research to quantify the effects of environmental processes such as sorption, sedimentation, and volatilization would allow expansion and refinement of the model to permit more accurate estimates of pollutant concentrations. (ERA citation 12:025850)