12. Introduction to Coastal Contamination
Coastal regions are significant due to their industries and the potential for sediment contamination. Management options for contaminated sediments include monitored natural recovery, in-situ capping, and dredging. Each method has its implications on environmental safety and effectiveness, highlighting the balance between remediation costs and ecological impacts.
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What we have learnt
- Coastal sediments can pose contamination risks that need effective management.
- Monitored natural recovery relies on natural processes to mitigate contamination.
- In-situ capping creates barriers to prevent chemical leaching into the water, though it may disrupt local ecosystems.
- Dredging effectively removes contaminated materials but risks resuspending toxins in the water column.
Key Concepts
- -- Monitored Natural Recovery
- A remediation strategy that relies on the natural processes in the environment to reduce the concentration of contaminants in sediments.
- -- InSitu Capping
- The placement of clean materials over contaminated sediments to reduce exposure to pollutants, delaying contaminant movement into the water.
- -- Dredging
- A method of removing contaminated sediments but can lead to the disturbance of toxic materials and increased turbidity in waters.
- -- Refractory Chemicals
- Chemicals specifically designed to be nonbiodegradable and hence resist natural decomposition.
- -- Partition Constant
- A measure used to describe the distribution of a contaminant between two phases, such as sediment and pore water.
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