Transport and Transformation of Contaminants Near the Sediment-Water Interface addresses the issue of contaminated bottom sediments and their potential adverse impacts on water quality. This state-of-the-science book covers regulatory management perspectives, physical processes, chemical and biological processes, and process synthesis/modeling. Specific topics discussed include EPA's Sediment Quality Criteria program from a regulatory perspective; flocculation, deposition, and resuspension of fine-grained sediments; approaches for measuring vertical sediment flux near the sediment-water interface; equilibrium models for metal speciation in natural sediments; the partitioning of organic chemicals in bottom sediments; and the development and application of models of sediment and associated contaminant transport in surface waters. The significance of recent studies suggesting that interaction of contaminated bottom sediments with the overlying water play an important role in the long-term recovery of aquatic systems makes Transport and Transformation of Contaminants Near the Sediment-Water Interface essential for water quality engineers, environmental chemists, and environmental toxicologists. The volume provides important information for consultants, regulators, researchers, and graduate students as well.

Close to one-half of all Americans live in coastal counties. The resulting flood of wastewater, stormwater, and pollutants discharged into coastal waters is a major concern. This book offers a well-delineated approach to integrated coastal management beginning with wastewater and stormwater control. The committee presents an overview of current management practices and problems. The core of the volume is a detailed model for integrated coastal management, offering basic principles and methods, a direction for moving from general concerns to day-to-day activities, specific steps from goal setting through monitoring performance, and a base of scientific and technical information. Success stories from the Chesapeake and Santa Monica bays are included. The volume discusses potential barriers to integrated coastal management and how they may be overcome and suggests steps for introducing this concept into current programs and legislation. This practical volume will be important to anyone concerned about management of coastal waters: policymakers, resource and municipal managers, environmental professionals, concerned community groups, and researchers, as well as faculty and students in environmental studies.

Bioavailability refers to the extent to which humans and ecological receptors are exposed to contaminants in soil or sediment. The concept of bioavailability has recently piqued the interest of the hazardous waste industry as an important consideration in deciding how much waste to clean up. The rationale is that if contaminants in soil and sediment are not bioavailable, then more contaminant mass can be left in place without creating additional risk. A new NRC report notes that the potential for the consideration of bioavailability to influence decision-making is greatest where certain chemical, environmental, and regulatory factors align. The current use of bioavailability in risk assessment and hazardous waste cleanup regulations is demystified, and acceptable tools and models for bioavailability assessment are discussed and ranked according to seven criteria. Finally, the intimate link between bioavailability and bioremediation is explored. The report concludes with suggestions for moving bioavailability forward in the regulatory arena for both soil and sediment cleanup.

The Encyclopedia of Ecology contains contributions from international experts on a diverse array of topics related to ecology. It provides current and comprehensive information on many themes, including behavioral ecology, ecological processes, ecological modeling, ecological engineering, ecological indicators, ecological informatics, ecosystems, ecotoxicology, evolutionary ecology, general ecology, global ecology, human ecology, and systems ecology. The online version includes extensive internal cross-referencing and dynamic linking to journal articles and abstract databases.