Capping Of Contaminated Dredged Material

Bioassay/bioaccumulation testing results indicate that about 5% of the proposed dredging projects consist of sediments which exhibit an unacceptable level of toxicity and/or bioaccumulation potential which would prohibit their unrestricted ocean disposal. Capping of these sediments with uncontaminated dredged material has been conducted in Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean in order to isolate the contamination from the marine environment. Studies of these capping projects demonstrate the effectiveness of capping as an option to provide a barier to chemical diffusion and prevent resuspension of contaminated dredged material.