Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
June 18, 2007
4. Water Quality -
Test sees high risk in
Woodland Daily Democrat - 6/16/07
By Thomas Peele/Contra Costa Times
More than 21 tons of lead, zinc, barium, copper and other toxic metals have fallen or washed away from decaying government ships in
Tests on water extracted from sediment samples indicate a significant risk to aquatic life on the bay bottom and that toxic metals are likely entering the food chain and could be passed on to people who eat fish from the area, said two scientists who reviewed the report for the Times.
The 610-page document suggests that the "mothball fleet" of dozens of World War II relics and rotting cargo carriers is more of an environmental threat than the U.S. Maritime Administration, which maintains it, has previously acknowledged.
The report lists seven toxic metals in peeling and flaking paints in concentrations that exceed
In addition to the 21 tons of metals that are estimated to have fallen, at least another 65 tons remain on the ships.
That toxic material "is likely to be released to the environment" and its cleanup "is highly warranted and recommended" because of threats to the "ecosystem, site maintenance personnel, visitors and salvage crews," states the report by R&M Environmental and Infrastructure, an
The Maritime Administration commissioned the study after the Times reported on the deteriorating conditions of the ships in May 2006.
"There is a definite problem here," said Michael McGowan, a scientist with Arc Ecology, a
The study was designed to determine the condition of paint on the ships; estimate how much of it had already entered the bay and how much remained aboard that could enter the bay; and evaluate bay-bottom sediment under the fleet.
Forty ships were surveyed and 24 sediment samples were taken. Water taken from six of those samples was subjected to further testing.
The key findings:
• The paint is highly toxic hazardous waste.
• Roughly 25 percent of the paint on the ships has flaked off.
• Much of the remaining paint is badly peeling or "exfoliating" and an environmental threat.
• The same metals that were found in high concentrations in the paint chip samples were also present in high concentrations in the sediment samples, but were not directly linked to the ships.
• Water extracted from the sediment contained levels of toxic metals "significantly higher" than what is commonly found in contaminated sediment.
Water in the sediment is "much, much more dangerous than anyone would want it to be," said Raymond J. Lovett, a chemist in
The test performed on the sediment water indicates whether the level of metals in it are high enough for living things to ingest them. If the results show that the ratio of sulfides to water in a sample is higher than one, then the metals are "bioavailable" to organisms.
The higher the ratio, the higher amount of metal in the water. The ratios on the six tests ranged from 11 to 38. The report calls those results "significantly higher than values commonly observed for contaminated sediments."
That means that fish, clams and other creatures that inhabit the bottom are absorbing the materials. "Any organism that burrows in the mud will contact this water. The (tests) show that organisms in the water will take in" the toxic metals, Lovett said.
The report calls for further investigation of the high ratios. It does not define the water or sediment as toxic and states that the levels of metals are consistent with samples taken miles away, suggesting the ships may not be the source or the only source.
Industrial and municipal pollution, surface runoff and rain might also be responsible for the metals in the sediment, the report states. But that "does not exclude the potential for ecological risk to be present" from the paint, which is falling from many of the ships in large pieces.
The report does not directly link the toxic metals found in the sediment to the tons of paint, apparently because such an analysis was not ordered.
"They should have put the sediment under a microscope and looked for paint chip in it," Lovett said. Still, it was obvious that the ships significantly contributed to the metals found in the sediments, he said. "There is obviously no way around it. There's nothing else that could happen to the paint."
Lovett also said additional tests are needed on marine organisms from the bay bottom. "They have to get the worms and the clams and test them. This is not trivial."
The Maritime Administration received the document Feb. 15, but its chief environmental officer, Michael Carter, said last week he had no knowledge of it or its origins and wouldn't discuss it.
The agency's chief spokeswoman, Shannon Russell, also said she had no knowledge of the report, but she suggested it illustrates why the ships should be recycled as soon as possible. "This is yet another reason to remove these vessels from the fleet," she said.
The Times obtained the report from Arc Ecology. It obtained a copy under a Freedom of Information request earlier this year.
Saul Bloom, the group's executive director, said it is outrageous that such a critical document had not been brought to the attention of Carter and other administration higher-ups in the four months since the contractor turned it in.
"It's bureaucratic incompetence. It's their damn report," Bloom said.
The head of the firm that performed the testing said the results were turned over to the Maritime Administration's
The test results will likely prompt
"This is new information that we didn't have before. We are very interested in getting this document. It appears risk assessments should be done," said Shin-Roei Lee, a watershed division management division chief for the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board.
60-year history
The federal government began stockpiling surplus ships in
At its height, the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet contained hundreds of vessels. A 1959 photo shows 324 ships riding anchor, lashed together side by side in 14 rows.
This month less than 80 vessels remain there, according to Maritime Administration documents. About 55 of them are either classified as ready for disposal or being readied. The classification process includes a lengthy review of a ship's historic value and the stripping of useful parts from it. While the ships ride anchor in the bay, sometimes for decades, little or no maintenance is performed on them.
The Maritime Administration has missed congressional deadlines to dispose of all obsolete vessels, due to both a lack of funding and its own cumbersome processes. It pays companies to scrap the vessels, a cost to taxpayers that often exceeds $1 million per ship from
Last year the Coast Guard added a new hurdle to the process. It began requiring that the underwater portions of the ships' hulls be cleaned before they could be removed from local waters to stop the spread of non-native or invasive species.
When two World War II Victory ships were cleaned in
In December, the board's executive officer required that the Maritime Administration comply with state anti-pollution laws when cleaning ships. Specifically, he mandated that the Maritime Administration capture any materials that come off the hulls during cleaning.
The Maritime Administration suspended its ship disposal program in February as it searched for a way to comply. In an April memo, its officials said they planned to make "a good-faith effort" to use such a system but did not guarantee it. The matter remains unresolved.
Meanwhile, only Naval vessels can be removed from the
Many of the vessels in the bay are in poor condition, taking on water and listing. Water needs to be periodically pumped from some to keep them afloat. Most are severally rusted and Maritime Administration documents show they are laden with tons of PCBs, asbestos, fuel oil and other toxic substances.
Lawsuit likely
Little or no testing to measure the fleet's environmental impact had occurred until the report issued in February.
Based on its results, Bloom said his organization is "very, very likely" to take the Maritime Administration to court soon to try to force further testing and remediation.
Bloom said the report raises questions about whether fish caught in the area are safe for human consumption and how far polluted paint chips might travel from the fleet.
"People catch fish out there on a weekly basis," Bloom said. "There might be people fishing out there who don't know this."
Eric Larson, spokesman for the state Department of Fish and Game, said his agency already urges people to limit their consumption of fish that reside in San Francisco and Suisun bays and the Delta, such as striped bass, sturgeon, croaker and halibut, because of pollution concerns like those outlined in the report.
Fish and Game recommends that adults limit themselves to two meals of resident fish per month and should not eat striped bass longer than 35 inches. Women who are pregnant or might become pregnant and children under the age of 6 should not eat more than one meal of fish per month and should not eat striped bass more than 27 inches long.
Migratory fish that pass through the bays and Delta, such as salmon, herring and anchovies, are less of a concern, Larson said.
The ship fleet, anchored off
"There is the potential for metals to be moving both ways," he said. "This has a big effect on the ecology of the Delta. The fleet is not helping the Delta smelt and how much it is hurting them is open to serious questions."
The Delta smelt is a state and federal threatened species and scientists are investigating the rapid decline in its population, including the contribution of man-made pollution.
The 24 sediment samples from the Maritime Administration study only took materials about two inches deep. Bloom and McGowan suggested that deeper bottom samples are needed, as are tests to determine how paint chips may spread through tidal currents.
"A two-knot current moves a yard a second. In a minute a piece of paint can be 60 yards away," McGownan said.
It is unclear how much work would be required to remove the peeling paint. The report estimates that 17 percent of paint on the outside of hulls is gone, as is 58 percent of it on decks and 18 percent of it from interior walls.
A complete environmental assessment of the Suisun Fleet and its impact on the Bay is needed, Bloom said.
"If this is a start, fine," he said. "But let's see where it goes. There seems to be a regulatory void here." #
http://www.dailydemocrat.com/search//ci_6158561
No comments:
Post a Comment