Assessing the ecological risk of creating artificial reefs from ex-warships

Inactive warships would make excellent artificial reefs in coastal waters if preliminary data suggesting that they pose no threat to human health or the environment from contamination can be confirmed. A screening level ecorisk assessment was conducted on data from artificial reefs composed of ex-warships located off the coast of South Carolina to assess the potential risk of contamination from sunken warships. Contaminants of concern (COCs) can enter the system from releases from the sunken vessel or inputs from coastal waters. The assessment endpoints were the reef community and organisms that may frequent and forage on the reef. Primary exposure can occur to the reef community, which is composed of demersal fishes, epibenthic and benthic invertebrates, and primary producers and zooplank-ton. Indirect exposure can occur through bioaccumulation in the food chain to avian omnivores, avian piscivores, and marine mammals. Benchmarks were developed for water, sediment, tissue residue, and dietary exposures. Estimates of exposure associated with ex-warship reefs were compared to estimates of exposure associated with (ii) other artificial reefs, (iii) natural reefs, and (iv) regional background and compared to the appropriate ecological effects benchmarks.