Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network assessment of contaminant threats: Assateague Island National Seashore

Cooper, Keith; Borjan, Marija

This report deals with the chemicals of concern (COCs) for Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS), and makes specific recommendations for monitoring plans. These recommendations are based on the ecosystems within the park and the specific baseline inventory.Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network assessment of contaminant threats: Assateague Island National Seashore. The Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS) is part of the Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network (NCBN). The network includes 8 coastal parks located from Massachusetts through Virginia. ASIS became a National Park in 1965, and is located a short distance from both Washington DC and Philadelphia PA. The park attracts over 2 million visitors annually, with about 60% visiting between May and August.The 1982 General Management Plan for ASIS provides a broad framework for the improvement and management of park resources and cultural viability. Other environmental management programs currently in place at the park include Emergency Action, Hazardous Waste, Composting, Employee Training, Job Hazard Analyses and Hazard Communication (HAZcom). The findings in this report are based on discussions with park personnel, a visit to the park to determine potential chemical impacts on the park from on-site and off-site activities, and a review of databases from State (MD and VA) and federal databases (USEPA, USGS, NOAA Status and Trends). Both the report by James-Pirri (2004) and Kopp et al., (2002) were used in characterizing water quality issues and some information on monitoring programs. The surrounding bays of ASIS have had a number of studies that have sampled sediment and tissue for chemicals of concern (COCs) and sediment toxicity to benthic organisms in these areas (USEPA 2002; Zimmerman 1996). These data are an important source for developing which COCs may be from off-site activities and give a temporal and spatial distribution in surrounding areas. The sections below describes general physical characteristics, park specific biological habitats, source inputs, chemicals of concern (COCs) and a sampling and monitoring plan for ASIS. General Physical CharacteristicsASIS is a 37-mile long barrier island (Assateague Island) off the coasts of Maryland and Virginia (www.nps.gov/asis/pphtml/documents.hmtl.). Assateaque Island forms the eastern boundary of the Sinepuxent-Newport-Chincoteague Bay complex, extending from Ocean City inlet in M.D. to Chincoteague Inlet in V.A. (Zimmerman 1996). The northern 22 miles of Assateague Island are in Maryland, and the southern 15 miles lie in Virginia. The Island varies in width from 1 ¼ miles to 2 ½ miles wide (Figure 1). There are two bridges providing access to ASIS, one at the norther end of the island near the Barrier Island Visitor Center in Maryland and one at the southern end of the island near the Town of Chincoteague in Virginia (http://www.nps.gov/asis/). ASIS provides a variety of visitor use infrastructure at both ends of the island, including parking lots, picnic areas, campgrounds, and nature trails. (Mackintosh 1982).

Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network assessment of contaminant threats: Assateague Island National Seashore

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