FEATURE pubs.acs.org/est In-situ Sorbent Amendments: A New Direction in Contaminated Sediment Management†

Abstract

bS Supporting Information Aquatic sediments form the ultimate repositories of past andongoing discharges of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), many pesticides, and dioxins, as well as mercury (Hg) and methylmer-cury (MeHg). These sediment-bound pollutants serve as long-term exposure sources to aquatic ecosystems. Approximately 10 % of the sediment underlying the United States ' surface water is sufficiently contaminated with toxic pollutants to pose poten-tial risks to fish and fish-eating wildlife and humans.1 Remedia-tion of contaminated sediments remains a technological chal-lenge. Traditional approaches do not always achieve risk reduc-tion goals for human health and ecosystem protection and can even be destructive for natural resources. Though removal of contaminated sediment by dredging and disposal in a secure landfill can be effective under certain conditions, a recent stud