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Title:	Application of toxicity identification and evaluation procedures for dredged material management
Authors:	Kreitinger, Joseph P. Farrar, J. Daniel. Lotufo, Guilherme R.
Keywords:	Dredging spoil Dredged material Toxicity
Publisher:	Environmental Laboratory (U.S.) Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.)
Series/Report no.:	ERDC TN-DOER ; R25
Abstract:	Purpose: Federal regulatory statutes and guidance require the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to evaluate direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts associated with management of dredged material including the potential for release of contaminants at disposal sites [1]. As limitations to the placement of dredge material in confined disposal facilities (CDF) increase, the development of sustainable alternatives for dredged material management are being pursued. However, the evaluation of potential environmental impacts that may result from alternative management strategies, such as the beneficial use of dredged material for shoreline habitat restoration, urban brownfield site redevelopment, and the restoration of agricultural and forest lands, is often complex. The evaluation of environmental impacts from these alternative management strategies typically requires more data than the assessment of risks associated with placement of dredged material in a CDF. The USACE Inland Testing Manual and Ocean Disposal Manual provide guidance on a tiered effects-based testing framework that is used to establish the acceptability of placing dredged materials in open water and near-shore environments [2,3]. The effects-based testing relies on standard toxicity tests using freshwater and marine organisms for assessing the potential toxicity of dredged materials. However, these methods provide little or no information on the agents causing toxicity. This additional information (i.e., understanding the mechanism or cause of toxicity) is a critical component for the evaluation of environmental impacts that are associated with many alternative dredged material management options. The lack of an approach for obtaining information on the source of toxicity when conducting standard toxicity tests, resulted in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developing a new class of testing protocols referred to as Toxicity Identification and Evaluation (TIE) methods. The USACE is currently evaluating these new TIE methods for whole sediments and interstitial sediment pore waters for application to dredged material management. The following technical note provides background on TIE procedures, their use within the multi-step dredged material evaluation process, and their application to decision-making under the Upland Testing, Inland Testing, and Ocean Disposal Manuals [1-3].
URI:	http://hdl.handle.net/11681/21208 http://dx.doi.org/10.21079/11681/21208
Appears in Collections:	Technical Note