Abstract
Comprehensive investigations of estuaries incentral New South Wales has identified Port Jackson as themost contaminated waterway on the eastern seaboard ofAustralia. Extensive areas of the estuary are mantled insediment containing high concentrations of a large range ofmetallic and organic contaminants. Although extensive, thisdatabase does not provide an effective basis for determiningthe potential adverse effects of chemicals on livingresources. In the absence of any ecotoxicologicalinformation, the recently published (1999) draft Australianand New Zealand Environmental and Conservation Council(ANZECC) sediment quality guidelines have been used toassess possible adverse biological effects of thesetoxicants. The ANZECC guidelines use the lower effects range of thewidely used U. S. National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration (NOAA) scheme to identify potentiallycontaminated sediment and as a threshold to trigger foradditional investigative work. This guideline level has beenused in the current study to assess possible toxicity ofcontaminated sediments in Port Jackson. It is estimated thatsediments in approximately 26% of the estuary, mainly theupper parts of the harbour and much of the central harbour,have a 67% probability of being toxic. Sediments in thecentral harbour and a major tributary, the Middle Harbour,comprising about 40% of the estuary, have a 13 to 25%probability of toxicity. All sediments in the harbour,except at the mouth of the estuary, would require additionalenvironmental assessment based on the proposed draft ANZECCsediment quality guidelines.
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Birch, G., Taylor, S. Possible Biological Significance of Contaminated Sediments in Port Jackson, Sydney, Australia. Environ Monit Assess 77, 179–190 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015875903475
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015875903475