title: Predicting pollutant concentrations in the water column during dredging operations: Implications for sediment quality criteria.
abstract: The development of new dredging techniques that can reduce, or at least predict, the environmental impacts, is in high demand by governments in developing countries. In the present work, a new methodology was developed, to evaluate the level of metals contamination (i.e. cadmium, lead and zinc) of the water column, during a dredging operation. This methodology was used to evaluate the impacts of the construction of a new maritime terminal in Sepetiba Bay, Brazil. The methodology quantifies the amount of resuspended sediments and calculates the expected contaminants concentrations in the water column. The results indicated that sediment quality criteria were not compatible with water quality criteria, because the dredging of contaminated sediments does not necessarily yield contaminated water. It is suggested that the use of sediment quality criteria for dredging operations might be abandoned, and the methodology presented in this study applied to assess dredging's environmental impacts, predicting water contamination levels.
authors.affiliation: Network of Environment and Sustainable Development (REMADS-UFF), University Federal Fluminense, Institute of Geosciences, office 406. Av Litorânea s/n Boa Viagem, Niterói. CEP 24030-346, Brazil. Electronic address: geowass@vm.uff.br.
authors.forename: Julio Cesar
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Wasserman
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nuclear Engineering - CNEN, Rua Hélio de Almeida, 75, Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ CEP 21941-906, Brazil. Electronic address: mwasserman@ien.gov.br.
authors.forename: Maria Angélica V
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Wasserman
authors.affiliation: Department of Sanitation and Environmental Health, National School of Public Health, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation - FIOCRUZ, Rua Leopoldo Bulhões 1480/sala 521, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Electronic address: paulo.barrocas@ensp.fiocruz.br.
authors.forename: Paulo Rubens G
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Barrocas
authors.affiliation: Network of Environment and Sustainable Development (REMADS-UFF), University Federal Fluminense, Institute of Geosciences, office 406. Av Litorânea s/n Boa Viagem, Niterói. CEP 24030-346, Brazil. Electronic address: aline.geoq@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Aline Mansur
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Almeida
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis; D014867:Water; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014876:Water Pollution; D060753:Water Quality
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D014867:Water
keywords: Brazil; Metals; Modeling; Ports and harbors; Resuspension; Sepetiba Bay; Water column