Mercury emissions from cement-stabilized dredged material

Upland placement of dredged materials from navigation channels in the New York/New Jersey Harbor is currently being used to manage sediments deemed inappropriate for open water disposal. Although upland placement sites are equipped with engineering controls (leachate collection and/or barrier walls), little is known of the potential impacts of this approach to air quality. The aim of this study was to estimate the flux of mercury to the atmosphere from New York/New Jersey Harbor stabilized dredged material (SDM)that was used for land reclamation at a site in northeastern New Jersey. Total gaseous mercury (TGM) was measured at a site receiving SDM in August and October 2001 and May and November 2002. TGM was also monitored at an urban reference site 3.5 km west of the SDM site in September 2001 and from February 2002 to July 2002 and from October 2002 to February 2003. The concentration of TGM at the urban reference site averaged 2.2 +/- 1.1 ng m(-3), indicating some local contribution to the Northern Hemisphere background. TGM concentrations exhibited seasonality with the highest values in summer (3.3 +/- 2.1 ng M-3 in June 2002) and the lowest in winter (1.7 +/- 0.6 ng M-3 in January 2003). TGM concentrations at the SDM placement site ranged from 2 to 7 ng M-3 and were significantly higher (p < 0.001) than those at the urban reference site. Sediment-air fluxes of Hg at the SDM placement site estimated by the micrometeorological technique ranged from -13 to 1040 Ing M-2 h(-1) (sediment to air fluxes being positive) and were significantly correlated to solar radiation (r(2) = 0.81). The estimated contribution of Hg emissions from land-applied SDM to local TGM concentrations was found to be negligible (< 4%). However, the estimated annual volatilization rate of TGM at the SDM site (130 kg y(-1)) was comparable to those of other industrial sources in New Jersey (140-450 kg y(-1)).