Integrated sediment decontamination for the New York/New Jersey Harbor

Abstract

Disposal of dredged material taken from the New York/New Jersey (NY/NJ) Harbor is problematic because of the presence of inorganic and organic contaminants that under revised testing criteria render it unsuitable for return to the ocean or for beneficial reuse. Decontamination of the dredged material followed by beneficial reuse is one attractive component of the overall comprehensive dredged material management plan being developed by the US Army Corps of Engineers New York District. A demonstration program to validate decontamination processes and to bring them into full-scale use in the NY/NJ Harbor is now in progress. Tests of selected technologies have been completed at the bench scale and pilot-scale (2--15 m{sup 3}) levels. Procedures for demonstration testing on scales from 750 m{sup 3} to 75,000 m{sup 3} are being developed with the goal of producing a useable decontamination system by the end of 1999. The overall project goals and present status of the project are reviewed here.