Ecological evaluation of proposed discharge of dredged material from Oakland Harbor into ocean waters (Phase 3 A of -42-foot project)

Abstract

This is Volume 1 of a two-volume report that presents information gathered to determine the suitability of ocean disposal of sediment dredged from Oakland Harbor. This volume contains project background, materials and methods, results, discussions, and conclusions. Volume 2 contains the appendixes (A through S), which provide details of the data analyses and full presentation of the data and results.

Tier 1 ecological evaluation of proposed discharge of dredged material from Oakland Harbor into ocean waters

“…Phase I evaluated sediments from 20 stations in Oakland Inner Harbor (Word et al 1990a). Phase II of the Oakland Harbor Studies evaluated sediments from six composites in Oakland Inner Harbor and 15 stations in Oakland Outer Harbor (Word et al 1990b). The six composited stations in Oakland Inner Harbor and one station in Oakland Outer Harbor were added to Phase II after it was discovered that coring equipment could not penetrate to the -44-ft project depth at these stationsduring Phase I.…”

“…The six composited stations in Oakland Inner Harbor and one station in Oakland Outer Harbor were added to Phase II after it was discovered that coring equipment could not penetrate to the -44-ft project depth at these stationsduring Phase I. The locations of all sites within Oakland Inner and Outer Harborswhere Word et al (1988Word et al ( , 1990aWord et al ( , 1990bcollected samples for sediment chemistry analyses and bioassays are shown in Figure 3.2.…”

“…The dredged material collected by Word et al (1988) was chemically analyzed and subjected to bioassay experiments, including solid-phase bioassays on four species of organisms (M. nasuta, N. caecoides, Grandidierellajaponica, and R. abronius) and suspendedphase bioassays using three species of organisms (A. sculpta, C. stigmaeus, and Crassostrea gigas). Word et al (1990aWord et al ( , 1990b) conducted a series of solid-phase toxicity tests with four sensitive marine invertebrates (M. nasuta, N. caecoides, Ampelisca abdita, and R. abronius), and assessed the bioaccumulation potential of sediment-associatedcontaminants in tissue of M. nasuta. The results of these analyses were used to develop the information presented in Tables 3.3 through 3.5.…”

“…Contaminant concentrations in Oakland Harbor sedimentswere comparedto reference sediments from Alcatraz Disposal Site (USACE 1988, Power and Chapman 1988, McPherson et al 1989), Point Reyes reference station PR-F and PR-C (Word et al 1990a(Word et al , 1990b, and Point…”

“…Confirmatory analyses of the presence, toxicity, and bioaccumulation of potential contaminants were conducted by USACE (1988) and Word et al (1988Word et al ( , 1990aWord et al ( , 1990b. In December 1986, USACE (1988) collected sediment core samples from Oakland Inner Harbor, including three areas adjacent to Schnitzer Steel and four areas adjacent to Todd Shipyard and Oakland Outer Harbor (Figure 3.1).…”