Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network assessment of contaminant threats: Sagamore Hill National Park

Cooper, Keith; Borjan, Marija

The purpose for this report is to review existing contaminant data from all sources (state, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Park Service, U.S. Corps of Engineers etc.) and produce a data synthesis report for Sagamore Hill National Park (SAHI). Site visits and interviews with NPS staff were carried out to evaluate sources and threats and assess the ecological setting at each park. A park specific baseline inventory and monitoring plan which will include recommendations for frequency of sampling, sampling locations, sample analytes, analytical methods and sampling methods based on the information collected from Task 1 and 2 will be prepared and recommendations of contaminant assessments that should be conducted to evaluate threats to natural resources to document impairment will be submitted. The recommendations are based on the current data sets that may be limited due to minimal sampling for specific chemical contaminants at the park and in the surrounding area. The approach taken in this and other reports will utilize a hazard quotient (HQ) approach. A detailed discussion of this approach is presented in Appendix 1. The basic principle is that detected levels in a matrix (sediment, soil, water or tissue) that are greater than a given bench mark concentration or dose that is considered a threshold for toxicity results in a HQ greater than one. HQ greater than one for a compound would result in that compound being considered a chemical of concern (COC). In the case where there are no data from a site, but there is literature or personnel observations that would suggest the specific activities could contribute to chemical loading that could impact park wildlife, then sampling is suggested to be carried out to confirm or refute such an assertion.

Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network assessment of contaminant threats: Sagamore Hill National Park

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