Contaminated Sediments Program

Reports and Publications

A. Human Health

B. Bench Scale Testing

C. Information Summaries

D. Pilot-Scales

The ARCS Program had the following objectives:

Assess the nature and extent of bottom sediment contamination at selected Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AoCs);
Demonstrate and evaluate the effectiveness of selected remedial options; and,
Provide guidance on contaminated sediment problems and remedial alternatives in the AoCs and other locations in the Great Lakes.

Major findings and recommendations of the ARCS Program included the following:

Use of an integrated sediment assessment approach, incorporating chemical analyses, toxicity testing, and benthic community surveys, is essential to define the magnitude and extent of sediment contamination at a site;
Risk assessment and modeling activities are valuable techniques for evaluating the impacts of contaminated sediments;
Numerous treatment technologies are effective in removing or destroying sediment contaminants; and,
Broad public outreach and education are critical in any sediment assessment and remediation study.