ABSTRACT
CONTENTS Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 63 Classification of Sediment Contamination and Interpretive Tools and Guidelines................................ 64 Florida Sediment Quality Guidelines and Interpretive Tools ................................................................. 65 U.S. and International Sediment Quality Guidelines.............................................................................. 65 Incidence of Chemical Contamination of Sediments.............................................................................. 66 Classification of Toxicity of Sediments .................................................................................................. 69 Spatial Extent of Sediment Toxicity........................................................................................................ 69 Classification of Sediment Quality with Benthic Indices....................................................................... 71 Spatial Extent of Degraded Benthic Communities ................................................................................. 72 Discussion and Conclusions .................................................................................................................... 73 References ................................................................................................................................................ 74
Potentially toxic chemicals enter waters dissolved in water or attached to suspended particulate matter. Most waterborne toxic substances are hydrophobic and bond to particulates. As particulates and associated toxicants become increasingly dense, they can sink to the bottom of lakes, rivers, estuaries, and bays in low-energy areas where they become incorporated into sediments. Therefore, sediments that have accumulated in depositional zones where they are not disturbed by physical processes or other factors can provide a relatively stable record of toxicant inputs (NRC, 1989; Power and Chapman, 1992). As a result, sediments are an important medium in which to estimate the degree and history of chemical contamination of our national waters.
