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Sediments
Contamination
and
Sustainable
Remediation
Catherine Mulligan
Masaharu Fukue
Yoshio Sato
Boca Raton London New York
CRC Press is an imprint of the

Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Co-published by IWA Publishing, Alliance House, 12 Caxton Street, London SW1H 0QS, UK
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1-84339-300-X
978-1-84339-300-9
CRC Press
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© 2010 by Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
International Standard Book Number: 978-1-4200-6153-6 (Hardback)
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Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data
Mulligan, Catherine N.
Sediments contamination and sustainable remediation / authors, Catherine N. Mulligan,
Masaharu Fukue, and Yoshio Sato.
p. cm.
“A CRC title.”
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4200-6153-6 (Taylor & Francis : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-1-84339-300-9 (IWA :
alk. paper)
1. Contaminated sediments--Management. 2. Soil remediation. 3. Sedimentation and
deposition. I. Fukue, Masaharu. II. Sato, Yoshio, 1947- III. Title.
TD878.M85 2010
628.1’68--dc22 2009038395
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Contents
Preface.......................................................................................................................ix
The Authors............................................................................................................ xiii
Chapter 1 Introduction to Sediment Contamination and Management.................1

1.1 Introduction................................................................................1
1.2 Sustainable Development and the Aquatic
Geoenvironment.........................................................................3
1.3 Sources of Pollutants..................................................................3
1.4 Management of Contaminated Sediments.................................9
1.5 Natural Mitigation Processes................................................... 11
1.6 Bioaccumulation of Contaminants........................................... 12
1.7 Sustainable Sediment Management Practices.......................... 14
1.8 Concluding Remarks................................................................ 16
References........................................................................................... 17
Chapter 2 Introduction to Sediments................................................................... 19

2.1 Introduction.............................................................................. 19
2.2 Definition of Sediments............................................................ 21
2.3 Types of Sediments.................................................................. 21
2.3.1 Types of Sediments by Components........................... 22
2.3.1.1 Primary Minerals........................................ 23
2.3.1.2 Secondary Minerals..................................... 23
2.3.1.3 Organic Matter.............................................24
2.3.1.4 Oxides and Hydrous Oxides........................24
2.3.1.5 Carbonates and Sulfates..............................24
2.3.2 Types of Sediments by Grain Size..............................24
2.3.3 Structure of Sediments................................................26
2.4 Benthos..................................................................................... 30
2.5 Uses of Sediments and Water................................................... 31
2.6 Management of Sediments....................................................... 32
2.7 Concluding Remarks................................................................ 33
References........................................................................................... 33
Chapter 3 Contaminant–Sediment Interactions................................................... 35

3.1 Introduction.............................................................................. 35
3.2 Factors Influencing Contaminant–Sediment Interactions........ 35
3.2.1 Specific Surface Area (SSA)....................................... 35
3.2.2 Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC)............................... 39
iii
iv Contents
3.3 Sorption of Pollutants and Partition Coefficients..................... 41

3.3.1 Partitioning of Inorganic Pollutants............................44
3.3.2 Selective Sequential Extraction................................... 47
3.3.3 Organic Chemical Pollutants...................................... 50
3.4 Biotransformation and Degradation of Organic
Chemicals and Heavy Metals................................................... 54
3.4.1 Bioremediation Processes........................................... 56
3.4.2 Bioattenuation and Bioavailability.............................. 58
3.5 Interaction of Contaminants, Organisms, and Sediments........ 59
3.5.1 Bioaccumulation.......................................................... 59
3.5.2 Bioturbation.................................................................60
3.6 Chemical Reactions, Geochemical Speciation, and
Transport Predictions............................................................... 62
3.7 Concluding Remarks................................................................64
References........................................................................................... 65
Chapter 4 Remediation Assessment, Sampling, and Monitoring........................ 71

4.1 Introduction.............................................................................. 71
4.2 Cleanup Goals and Background Values................................... 72
4.3 Sampling................................................................................... 72
4.4 Analysis and Evaluation........................................................... 77
4.4.1 Mechanical Properties................................................. 77
4.4.1.1 Strength for Sediments................................ 77
4.4.1.2 Consolidation............................................... 79
4.4.2 Physical Properties...................................................... 79
4.4.2.1 Sediment Temperature................................. 79
4.4.2.2 Grain Size....................................................80
4.4.2.3 Specific Gravity........................................... 81
4.4.3 Chemical Sediment Quality........................................ 82
4.4.3.1 pH................................................................ 82
4.4.3.2 Organic Pollution Indicators........................ 83
4.4.3.3 Total Organic Carbon (TOC)...................... 83
4.4.3.4 Loss on Ignition (Ignition Loss).................. 83
4.4.3.5 Nitrogen.......................................................84
4.4.3.6 Phosphorus................................................... 85
4.4.3.7 Toxic Substances—Trace Metals................. 86
4.4.3.8 Toxic Substances—Organic
Micropollutants............................................ 88
4.4.3.9 Other Environmental Indicators..................90
4.4.3.10 Test Kits....................................................... 91
4.5 Decision Making Using Indicators...........................................92
4.6 Case Studies............................................................................. 93
4.6.1 Investigation of Port Sediments.................................. 93
4.6.2 Lake Sediments...........................................................97
4.7 Concluding Remarks.............................................................. 102
Contents v
References......................................................................................... 105
Chapter 5 Natural Recovery of Contaminated Sediments................................. 109

5.1 Introduction............................................................................ 109
5.2 Natural Recovery Processes of Sediments............................. 111
5.3 Evaluation of the Natural Recovery of Sediments................. 113
5.4 Models for Natural Remediation............................................ 119
5.4.1 Deposition Rate......................................................... 121
5.4.2 Source Loading......................................................... 121
5.4.3 Hydrodynamic Parameters........................................ 121
5.5 Regulatory Framework........................................................... 122
5.6 Protocols Developed for Monitored Natural Recovery.......... 122
5.7 Case Studies of Natural Recovery.......................................... 124
5.8 Enhanced Natural Recovery................................................... 129
References......................................................................................... 131
Chapter 6 In Situ Remediation and Management of Contaminated

Sediments.......................................................................................... 135
6.1 Introduction............................................................................ 135
6.2 In Situ Capping....................................................................... 135
6.2.1 Design Factors for Sand Capping.............................. 137
6.2.1.1 Consolidation............................................. 137
6.2.2 Rough Estimate of Cap Thickness for Advection..... 140
6.2.2.1 Contaminant Transport.............................. 142
6.2.3 Active Capping.......................................................... 144
6.3 Rehabilitation of the Coastal Marine Environment............... 144
6.3.1 Eutrophication........................................................... 145
6.3.2 Contamination........................................................... 145
6.3.3 Distribution of Contaminated Particles..................... 146
6.3.4 Resuspension Method for Removal of
Contaminated Sediment Particles............................. 147
6.3.5 Technology for Sediment Remediation by
Resuspension............................................................. 148
6.3.6 Design of a Filter Unit............................................... 149
6.4 Chemical Remediation Technologies..................................... 150
6.5 Biological Remediation Technologies.................................... 153
6.6 Creation of Seaweed Swards.................................................. 156
6.7 Case Studies of Remediation.................................................. 158
6.7.1 Contaminated Sediment Capping Projects............... 158
6.7.2 Steel Slag................................................................... 159
6.7.3 Bioremediation.......................................................... 161
References......................................................................................... 164
vi Contents
Chapter 7 Dredging and the Remediation of Dredged Contaminated

Sediments.......................................................................................... 169
7.1 Introduction............................................................................ 169
7.2 Sustainable Dredging Strategies............................................. 171
7.3 Physical Remediation Technologies....................................... 172
7.3.1 Physical Separation................................................... 173
7.3.2 Sediment Washing..................................................... 174
7.3.3 Flotation.................................................................... 180
7.3.4 Ultrasonic Cleaning.................................................. 180
7.4 Chemical/Thermal Remediation............................................ 180
7.4.1 Oxidation................................................................... 182
7.4.2 Electrokinetic Remediation....................................... 183
7.4.3 Solidification/Stabilization........................................ 185
7.4.4 Vitrification............................................................... 186
7.4.5 Thermal Extraction................................................... 189
7.5 Biological Remediation.......................................................... 190
7.5.1 Slurry Reactors.......................................................... 191
7.5.2 Landfarming.............................................................. 191
7.5.3 Composting............................................................... 193
7.5.4 Bioleaching................................................................ 195
7.5.5 Bioconversion Processes........................................... 195
7.5.6 Phytoremediation...................................................... 195
7.6 Beneficial Use of Sediments................................................... 196
7.7 Confined Disposal.................................................................. 198
7.8 Comparison between Treatment Technologies.......................200
7.9 Case Studies of Remediation.................................................. 201
7.9.1 Remediation of Sediments Contaminated with
Dioxin........................................................................ 201
7.9.2 Dredging Case Study................................................202
7.9.3 Case Study of a Washing Process.............................204
7.9.4 Biotreatment Case Study...........................................204
7.10 Concluding Remarks..............................................................206
References.........................................................................................209
Chapter 8 Management and Evaluation of Treatment Alternatives for

Sediments.......................................................................................... 215
8.1 Introduction............................................................................ 215
8.2 Generic Framework................................................................ 215
8.3 Remediation Objectives.......................................................... 216
8.4 Lines of Evidence................................................................... 219
8.5 Evaluation of the Management Alternatives.......................... 219
8.5.1 MNR.......................................................................... 221
8.5.2 Dredging.................................................................... 222
8.5.3 In Situ Capping.......................................................... 223
Contents vii
8.6 Selection of Technologies.......................................................224

8.7 Management Plan................................................................... 226
8.8 Sustainable Remediation........................................................ 234
8.9 Strategy for Remediated Sediment Sustainability................. 235
References......................................................................................... 239
Chapter 9 Current State and Future Directions................................................. 241

9.1 Introduction............................................................................ 241
9.2 Disposal at Sea....................................................................... 242
9.3 Beneficial Use of Dredged Materials..................................... 243
9.4 Sustainability Evaluation........................................................246
9.5 Case Study of Lachine Canal................................................. 249
9.6 Barriers to Technology Development and Implementation.... 253
9.7 Current Needs and Future Directions.................................... 253
References......................................................................................... 258
Appendix A Sediment Quality Guidelines from Environment Canada and
MDDEP, 2008................................................................................... 261
References.........................................................................................266
Appendix B London Convention and Protocol: Convention on the Prevention
of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter,
1972................................................................................................... 267
Introduction....................................................................................... 267
The 1978 Amendments—Incineration.............................................. 268
The 1978 Amendments—Disputes......................................... 268
The 1980 Amendments—List of Substances.................................... 268
The 1989 Amendments...................................................................... 268
The 1993 Amendments...................................................................... 269
1996 Protocol.................................................................................... 269
Permitted Dumping................................................................ 270
2006 Amendments to the 1996 Protocol........................................... 271
Appendix C Prediction of Sediment Toxicity Using Consensus Based
Freshwater Sediment Quality Guidelines: USGS. 2000.
Prediction of sediment toxicity using consensus based
freshwater sediment quality guidelines. EPA 905/R-00/007,
June 2000.......................................................................................... 273
References......................................................................................... 275
Appendix D International Sediment Quality Criteria........................................... 277
Hong Kong........................................................................................ 278
The Republic of Korea...................................................................... 279
Australia and New Zealand............................................................... 279
viii Contents
Australia and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and

Marine Water Quality................................................ 279
National Ocean Disposal Guidelines for Dredged
Material...................................................... 279
Canada............................................................................................... 279
United States..................................................................................... 279
USEPA ................................................................................... 279
USACE ...................................................................................280
U.S. State Guidelines..............................................................280
Florida ...................................................................280
New York................................................................... 281
Washington State....................................................... 281
Sediment Quality Chemical Criteria................................................. 281
Wisconsin..........................................................................................284
Europe...............................................................................................284
European Legislation..............................................................284
EC Legislation...........................................................284
Classification of Dredged Material in the EC
Region........................................................284
Belgium..................................................................................284
Finland ................................................................................... 285
France ....................................................................................286
Germany................................................................................. 286
Ireland .....................................................................................288
The Netherlands...................................................................... 288
Norway ................................................................................... 292
Portugal................................................................................... 293
Spain ...................................................................................... 293
Sweden ................................................................................... 294
The United Kingdom.............................................................. 294
Qatar.........................................................................................296
Index.......................................................................................................................297
Preface
The surface water environment is an important part of the geoenvironment. It is
the recipient of (a) liquid discharges from surface runoffs, rivers, and groundwater
and (b) waste discharges from land-based industrial, municipal, and other anthro-
pogenic sources. It is also a vital element that provides the base for life support
systems and is a significant resource. The combination of these two large factors,
with their direct link to human population, makes it an integral part of the con-
siderations on the sustainability of the geoenvironment and its natural resources.
A healthy ecosystem ensures that aquatic plants and animals are healthy and
that these do not pose risks to human health when they form part of the food
chain. In this book, we will discuss (a) the threats to the health of the sediments
resulting from discharge of pollutants, excessive nutrients, and other hazardous
substances from anthropogenic activities, (b) the impacts observed as a result of
these discharges including the presence of hazardous materials and the phenom-
enon of eutrophication, (c) the remediation techniques developed to restore the
health of the sediments, and (d) how to evaluate the remediation technologies
using indicators. Therefore, the problem of sediment contamination is developed,
in addition to how the sediments can be remediated and how the treatments can
be evaluated.
Contaminated sediments are a risk to fish, humans, and animals that eat the fish.
Although part of the geoenvironment, sediments have received much less attention
from researchers, policy makers, and other professionals than other components.
Sediment, however, is an essential and valuable resource in river basins and other
aqueous environments. A large biodiversity exists in the sediments. It is thus a source
of life and resources for humans as construction materials, sand for beaches, and
farmland and wetland nutrients.
There is a need to develop a better understanding of the sediment–water envi-
ronment and better management practices due to their potential impact on human
health and the environment. In particular, they need to be considered during efforts
to meet sustainability requirements. Sediments can be exposed to multiple sources
of contaminants and are located at the bottom of water columns. This makes risk
assessment and management more difficult than in soils. The benthic community
cannot be isolated from the contaminated sediments. This community is at the base
of the aquatic food chain, but can be highly tolerant to the contaminants. Sediment
quality criteria thus are much lower than for soils because the sediments can have a
significant influence on the aquatic food chain.
Sediments have been removed for centuries by dredging for maintaining navi-
gation. This type of sediment management will not be elaborated on substantially
because sediment management for the purpose of environmental cleanup or manage-
ment will be the main focus of this book. The binding of the contaminants to the
sediments, their bioavailability, mobility, and degradability are all important aspects
ix
x Preface
that will be taken into account. More than 10% of the sediments have been estimated
to be contaminated in the United States.
In Chapter 1, we will focus on the introduction of the importance of sediments,
the sources of contaminants, management practices, and sustainability. Sediments are
found in lakes, rivers, streams, harbors, and estuaries after traveling downstream from
their origin. Sources of effluents containing the solids include urban, agricultural, and
industrial lands. Strategies for remediation of contaminated sediments are introduced.
In Chapter 2, sediment components are discussed. They are inorganic and organic
solid materials and are often classified by size, as gravel, sand, silt, and clay. The
term “sediments” is used for soils deposited in water. They are often called marine
soils, if it is settled in the marine environment. Thus, sediments are in contact with
inorganic, organic, and other human-discharged materials, through the influence of
the pore water. Therefore, the properties of the pore water are an important factor
regarding the quality of the sediments. Sediment uses are also described.
The interactions of the pore water with the contaminants and the solids are com-
plex and will be discussed in Chapter 3. It is important to understand the physi-
cal and physicochemical interactions of the contaminants with the sediment solids
to understand the capacity of retention of the sediments and potential parameters
for contaminant release. Sediment composition, properties, and characteristics
will influence the interactions at the sediment–pore water interface. The reactions
between pollutants and sediment will determine its transport through the sediments,
and also its fate.
Sediment quality is related to the quality of surface water. It is due to the serial
mechanisms of the dissolution of organic matter and the exclusion of contaminants
due to the consolidation of sediments or the leaching of contaminants. Therefore, in
order to make an appropriate assessment of sediments, the physical, chemical, and bio-
logical mechanisms have to be understood well. Since the mechanisms are natural and
complex, there is the possibility that nonpredictable results can be obtained. Therefore,
it is necessary for engineers to modify or take measures suited to the occasion.
In Chapter 4, information including sampling and physical, chemical, and biologi-
cal test procedures to determine the state and extent of contamination will be exam-
ined. Sampling can also be used to predict future trends or to evaluate the progress of
the remediation work. The scale for sampling and monitoring will be site dependent.
Since most of the physical and chemical properties of sediments have to be deter-
mined by the laboratory tests, sampling is almost always needed. Therefore, moni-
toring of sediment properties can be achieved by tests on samples obtained from the
sites. Thus, much effort and planning is required for the monitoring of sediments.
In Chapter 5, the mechanisms involved and case studies of natural recovery of
various pollutants at contaminated sediment sites will be examined. There are dif-
ferences in the type of processes that play a role in the natural attenuation of ground-
water and the natural recovery of sediments. Usually transformation processes of the
contaminants are more dominant in the natural attenuation of surface soils, whereas
isolation and mixing are more prevalent in sediments. Natural recovery includes both
attenuation aspects (reduction of contaminants with no transport to other media) and
recovery (which allows the benthic and pelagic communities to be reestablished and
resume their beneficial uses). Monitoring is required to ensure that the remediation
Preface xi
objectives are achieved and that it is proceeding as planned. Thus the term monitored
natural recovery (MNR) is used. Thus upon successful completion, MNR would
meet the needs of sustainability. Acceptance is increasing as there is substantial cost
reduction achieved due to the nonremoval of large volumes of sediments.
There are still many gaps in knowledge, and a careful evaluation of the manage-
ment options must be made. Techniques for the remediation of sediments may be
required when the sediment leads to the accumulation of contaminants in aquatic
life or when the release of hazardous materials from sediments becomes a serious
problem. Therefore, a remediation technique, such as capping, dredging, or physical,
biological, and/or chemical treatment, has to be considered. In Chapter 6, in situ reme-
diation techniques and the management of contaminated sediments will be described.
In situ remediation could be beneficial over dredging due to a reduction in costs and
lack of solid disposal requirements. Therefore, these methods will be examined.
In Chapter 7, dredging and the management of dredged sediments will be dis-
cussed. Dredging is the excavation of materials (sediments) from the bottom of the
water column for a number of different purposes and is often required for naviga-
tional purposes in coastal and inland waters and/or removal of contaminated sedi-
ment. The dredging process itself has the potential to impact the environment. Proper
design of the dredging project can minimize the environmental impact. Long-term
monitoring is rarely performed to determine the residual contamination and long-
term effects of the dredging. The use of different methodologies includes physico-
chemical to biological approaches to the management of different routes of disposal
or uses of the dredged material.
Selection of the most appropriate remediation technology must coincide with the
environmental characteristics of the site and the ongoing fate and transport pro-
cesses and is elaborated on in Chapter 8. To be sustainable, the risk at the site must
be reduced, and the risk should not be transferred to another site. The treatment
must reduce the risk to human health and the environment. Cost-effectiveness and
permanent solutions are significant factors in determining the treatment. Sites vary
substantially, and there can be substantial uncertainty involved in the evaluation pro-
cess. However, decisions must be made based on the information available. In this
chapter, we will examine the means to select the most appropriate technique for site
remediation, evaluate the progress of the remediation, and determine the long-term
restoration of the site.
Finally, in Chapter 9, the two main approaches, in situ and ex situ treatment, are
examined further. Environmental dredging requires evaluation of the risks of dredg-
ing, determination of disposal methods, and/or potential beneficial use. Depending on
site conditions, in situ management may be preferable and may pose less risk to human
health, fisheries, and the environment. Both short-term and long-term risks must be
evaluated for the in situ and ex situ options. To work toward sustainability, waste must
be minimized, natural resources must be conserved, landfill deposition should be
minimized, and benthic habitats and wetlands must not be lost and must be protected.
Innovative integrated decontamination technologies must be utilized. We will exam-
ine, also, where developments are needed. The fate and transport of contaminants
must be understood more thoroughly to develop appropriate strategies. Sediment
quality standards and guidelines and conventions are detailed in the appendices.
xii Preface
We wish to acknowledge the benefit of all the interactions and discussions we

have had with all colleagues, research students, and professionals in the field. They
are all a vital part of the education of the public, industry, and governmental bodies
that are involved in the conservation and protection of the natural resources. A long-
term vision is needed. Otherwise, natural resources will continue to be depleted,
landfills will continue to be filled with contaminated sediments, and biodiversity in
the aquatic geoenvironment will be diminished. Integrated innovative management
practices need to be developed and applied.
Catherine N. Mulligan
Masaharu Fukue
Yoshio Sato
The Authors
Catherine N. Mulligan has B.Eng. and M.Eng. degrees in chemical engineering
and a Ph.D. specializing in geoenvironmental engineering from McGill University,
Montreal, Canada. She has gained more than 20 years of research experience in
government, industrial, and academic environments. She was a research associate
for the Biotechnology Research Institute of the National Research Council and then
worked as a research engineer for SNC Research Corp., a subsidiary of SNC‑Lavalin,
Montreal, Canada. She then joined Concordia University, Montreal, Canada, in the
Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering. She has taught
courses in site remediation, environmental engineering, fate and transport of contam-
inants, and geoenvironmental engineering, and she conducts research in remediation
of contaminated soils, sediments, and water. She holds a Concordia Research Chair
in Geoenvironmental Sustainability. She has completed a textbook (Environmental
Biotreatment, Government Institutes, 2002) as a sole author on biological treat-
ment technologies for air, water, waste, and soil, and two others, with Professor
R.N. Yong (Natural Attenuation of Contaminants in Soil, CRC Press, 2004) and
with Professors R.N. Yong and M. Fukue (Geoenvironmental Sustainability, CRC
Press, 2006). She has authored more than 50 refereed papers in various journals and
holds three patents. She is a member of the Order of Engineers of Quebec, Canadian
Society of Chemical Engineering, American Institute of Chemical Engineering, Air
and Waste Management Association, Association for the Environmental Health of
Soils, American Chemistry Society, Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, and the
Canadian Geotechnical Society.
Masaharu Fukue has B.Eng. and M.Eng. degrees in civil engineering from Tokai
University, Japan, and a Ph.D. in geotechnical engineering from McGill University,
Montreal, Canada. He joined a consultant firm for a short period and then moved
to Tokai University. He has given courses in geoenvironmental engineering, hydro-
spheric environment, shipboard oceanographic laboratory, and submarine geo-
technology. He is a member of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and
Geotechnical Engineering, International Society for Terrain-Vehicle Systems,
Japanese Society for Civil Engineers, the Japanese Geotechnical Society, and
the Japan Society of Waste Management Experts. He served as a chief editor for
Japanese Standards for Soil Testing Methods and for Japanese Standards for
Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Investigation Methods. He also served as a
director of the Standard Division and a member of the Board of Directors of the
Japanese Geotechnical Society. Since 1996 he has been a member of the editorial
board of the American journal Marine Georesources and Geotechnology. He was
recently a chair of the organizing committee of the 3rd International Symposium on
Contaminated Sediments, sponsored by ASTM, ISCS2006-Shizuoka, Japan. He is
also an advocate and a promoter of the Annual Symposium on Sea and Living Things
and Rehabilitation of Coastal Environment, Japan. He has sponsored the Marine
xiii
xiv The Authors
Geoenvironmental Research Association in Japan. He invented a filtration system

for seawater using a 2500-ton large barge and performed a field experiment using
the system for seawater purification in a small bay. He has published more than 300
scientific papers on qualities of seawater, sediments, and soils, has completed a book
with Professors R.N. Yong and C.N. Mulligan, Geoenvironmental Sustainability
(CRC Press, 2006), and is co-editor of Contaminated Sediments: Evaluation and
Remediation Techniques, STP 1482, ASTM International, 2006.
Yoshio Sato has B.Sci. and Dr.Sci. degrees in oceanography from Tokai University,
Japan. He has had more than 30 years of research and teaching experience in the
university. His specialty is chemical analyses of the formation mechanism of man-
ganese nodules on the ocean floor. Recently, he has become interested in preserva-
tion of the environment of enclosed sea areas, the utilization of ground seawater
for fishery, and deep ocean seawater. He is a member of the Chemical Society of
Japan, the Oceanographic Society of Japan, the Geochemical Society of Japan, the
Society of Sea Water Science, Japan, and the Japan Association of Deep Ocean Water
Applications. He is a member of a committee for prevention of pollution in Shizuoka
Prefecture, Committee of Environment in Shizuoka Prefecture, and Committee of
Environment in Shizuoka City. He is a member of the board of directors of the
Society of Sea Water Science, Japan, and has published more than 100 papers about
seawater.
1 Introduction to
Sediment Contamination
and Management
1.1 Introduction
Approximately 0.9 billion m3 of sediment in the United States are contaminated, which
are a risk to fish, humans, and animals that eat the fish, according to the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA, 1998). The rate of survival, immunity to
diseases, and growth of fish such as salmon may be affected by exposure to contami-
nated sediments early in life (Varanasi et al., 1993). Although part of the geoenviron-
ment, sediments have received much less attention from researchers, policy makers,
and other professionals than other components. Sediment, however, is an essential
and valuable resource in river basins and other aqueous environments. A large biodi-
versity exists in the sediments. It is thus a source of life and resources for humans as
construction materials, sand for beaches, and farmland and wetland nutrients.
However, due to the close contact of sediments with the water environment, they
are both a source and a sink for contaminants. There is a need to develop a better
understanding of the sediment–water environment and better management practices
due to their potential impact on human health and the environment. In particular,
they need to be considered during efforts to meet sustainability requirements. Some
of the major impacts due to increasing population pressures include:
• Loss of biodiversity and living resources

• Increased production of wastes and pollutants
• Depletion of nonrenewable natural resources
• Decreased soil, water, and air quality
• Increased discharges of greenhouse gases
Although some of these issues have been examined previously in regard to the
geoenvironment (Yong et al., 2006), in this book, we will focus on the stresses and
how to mitigate the impacts of these factors in relation to sediments, because they
are a highly important resource and basis for life. This environment will be defined
as the aquatic geoenvironment (Figure 1.1). They form an integral part of a function-
ing ecosystem and partake in various types of physical, chemical, and biological
activities. Some of these as detailed by Trevors (2003) include partaking in various
cycles such as those of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur, in addition to the
1
2 Sediments Contamination and Sustainable Remediation
Ecosphere
Atmosphere
Geosphere Biosphere
Hydrosphere
Also called Lithosphere Life zone including

includes solid continental Includes all the all living organisms
mantle, continental and water bodies on the within and above the
oceanic crust, and extending earth’s surface sediments
downward
Aquatic life zones

All receiving waters on terra firma
ma
(lakes, rivers, ponds, wetlands,s,
estuaries, groundwater, aquifers)rs)
Terra firma
Aquatic Geoenvironment
Figure 1.1 The various constituents of the ecosphere and their relationship to the aquatic
geoenvironment.
hydrologic and natural processes for the control of the biodegradation of pollutants
in the sediment and water.
Sediment is defined by SedNet as “suspended or deposited solids, acting as a
main component of a matrix which has been or is susceptible to being transported
by water” (Brils, 2003). Soil is defined as an aggregate material covering the earth
surface which consists of solid particles and void spaces with liquid and gas. Soil
particles are composed of inorganic and organic solid materials and are often classi-
fied by size, as gravel, sand, silt, and clay (which will be discussed in more detail in
Chapter 2). The term “sediments” is used for soils deposited in water. They are often
called marine soils, if they are settled in the marine environment. Sedimentary rock
is, therefore, consolidated and cemented sediment.
Sediments can be exposed to multiple sources of contaminants and are located
at the bottom of water columns. This makes risk assessment and management more
difficult than for soils. The benthic community cannot be isolated from the con-
taminated sediments (USEPA, 2002). This community is at the base of the aquatic
food chain, but can be highly tolerant to the contaminants (USEPA, 1998). Sediment
quality criteria thus are much lower than for soils because the sediments can have a
significant influence on the aquatic food chain. More than 10% of the volume of sedi-
ments (the upper 5 cm) at the bottom of the U.S. surface waters have been estimated
to be contaminated.
Introduction to Sediment Contamination and Management 3
1.2 Sustainable Development and the

Aquatic Geoenvironment
Five major themes under the acronym sustainable development were identified in
the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD 2002). They
included (1) water and sanitation, (2) energy, (3) health, (4) agriculture, and (5) bio-
diversity. It can easily be seen how many of these activities can influence sediment
quality. The impact of development activities with four components can be substan-
tial. The components include industrialization, urbanization, resource exploitation,
and agriculture (food production) (Figure 1.2).
Sediments are found in lakes, rivers, streams, harbors, and estuaries after travel-
ing downstream from their origin. Sources of effluents containing the solids include
urban, agricultural, and industrial lands. Sediments have been removed for centuries
by dredging for maintaining navigation. This type of sediment management will
not be elaborated on substantially, because sediment management for the purpose
of environmental cleanup or management will be the main focus of this book along
with the assessment of the sediments. The binding of the contaminants to the sedi-
ments, their bioavailability, mobility, and degradability are all important aspects that
will be examined.
1.3 Sources of Pollutants

Point and diffuse pollution sources enter the aquatic environment. Agricultural,
urban, and industrial activities, spills, and accidents contribute to the pollution.
Manufacturing and energy production, urban centers, municipalities, service indus-
tries, airborne and groundwater-transported contaminants all contribute contami-
nants to the sediments. In general, these effluents are either surface runoffs that
Natural
Energy Water and soil
resources
Productivity
Agriculture and
Industrialization food production Urbanization
Goods and services –

food, shelter, clothing
Sustainable society
Sustainable development
Figure 1.2 Basic elements and interactions contributing to a sustainable society and to
sustainable development.
discharge into the rivers, lakes, and groundwater or are point sources (Figure 1.3)
from municipal, industrial, or other sources.
Dredging is commonly used for maintenance of navigational routes. The mate-
rial has been reused for building and construction materials. Extraction of oil and
other resources is also frequent below the water surface, such as oil from Hibernia
platforms of the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
1. The use of the marine environment for fish and seafood extraction is one of
the oldest industries. More recently, fish aquaculture is growing in popular-
ity as fish stock become more and more depleted.
2. Water is extracted commonly for drinking water and for hydroelectric
power generation.
3. Although waste disposal is most frequently on land, a lack of suitable land
surfaces is now forcing waste disposal facilities in countries like Japan to
be placed in marine landfills in special facilities.
Some of these contaminant sources and how they reach the marine geoenviron-
ment can be seen in Figure 1.4. Proper management means that the impact must
eliminate or minimize damage to the ecosystem and the entry of these pollutants
into the environment. Spills, leaks, discharge, and runoff all threaten water quality
and subsequently health, two of the main components of WEHAB.
Industrialization, Urbanization, Agricultural Activities

Resource Exploitation Farm wastes, Soil erosion,
Waste streams, waste Compaction, Organic matter loss,
containment systems, Emissions; Nitrification, Fertilizers, Insecticides;
Discharges; Tailings ponds; Pesticides, Non-point source pollution
Dams, Landfills; Barrier systems;
Liners; Offshore oil drilling
Sediment and Water Quality, and Threat Management

Point and non-point source pollution; Aquifer,
Groundwater, Surface Water, Watershed, Receiving
Waters e.g. lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, etc.
Site Contamination, Management, and Remediation

Sediment contamination; Pollution management and control; Toxicity
reduction; Concentration reduction; Remediation and technology; Land
suitability; Restoration and rehabilitation; Threat reduction and curtailment
Figure 1.3 Threats and waste streams impacting soil and water quality.
Precipitation falling Spills, diffuse

through atmosphere with discharges from
noxious gases and harbour activities
airborne pollutants and boats, etc.
Runoff of ground
Pollutant plume surfaces polluted
from leaching of with nutrients,
waste piles and herbicides,
industrial pesticides, etc.
discharges, AMD
Runoff
Groundwater flow
River Urban and domestic
Unconfined aquifer discharges, etc.
Aquitard
Confined aquifer
Figure 1.4 Some of the more prominent causes of pollution of recharge water for rivers,
other receiving waters, and groundwater (aquifers). Contamination of the confined aquifer
depends on whether communication is established with the unconfined aquifer.
Heavy metals are common inorganic pollutants in the geoenvironment. These

include:
• From atomic numbers from 22 to 34: Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga,
Ge, As, and Se
• From 40 to 52: Zr, Nb, Mo, Tc, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Cd, In, Sn, Sb, and Te
• From 72 to 83: Hf, Ta, W, Re, Os, Ir, Pt, Au, Hg, Tl, Pb, and Bi
Anthropogenic activities such as landfills, metal extraction, and metal plating

generate heavy metal leachates containing copper, lead, zinc, and so on. A more
detailed description of the various forms and sources of arsenic, cadmium, chro-
mium, copper, lead, nickel, and zinc can be found in Yong et al. (2006).
Recently, extensive investigations were performed in the Port Jackson estuary
in southeastern Australia, near Sydney, due to the 2000 Olympic Games (Birch
and Taylor, 1999). Eight metals were measured in more than 1700 surface sediment
samples in the 30-km estuary, river tributaries, harbor annexes, and canals. Copper,
lead, and zinc, in particular, were found upstream where there were extensive indus-
trial and commercial activities. Thunderstorms and flooding transported the metals
downstream. Total levels of copper, lead, and zinc in the estuarine sediment cor-
responded to 1,900, 3,500, and 7,300 tonnes, respectively, due to many decades of
industrial discharges. Aquatic flora and fauna were affected by the sediments. In
the late 1990s, a program for reduction of waste discharges was initiated. However,
remediation of the sediments will be complex.
Organic chemical pollutants originate from chemical-producing industries such
as refineries, the spillage and leakage of various chemicals such as petroleum prod-
ucts, the use of various products such as paints, greases, oils, pesticides, etc. A com-
mon way to group the contaminants is as hydrocarbons, which can be divided into
monocyclic, polycyclic hydrocarbons, alkanes, alkenes, etc., or as organohalides,
which contain halides such as chlorine. Polycyclic chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and
trichloroethylene (TCE) are examples of the latter. Organic compounds may also
contain oxygen or nitrogen atoms such as methanol or trinitrotoluene (TNT).
The aquatic environment is a resource that must be protected and maintained in a
healthy state. When the health of plants and animals that are part of the food chain
is impacted, then there is a risk as well to human health. Water is of primary impor-
tance for all forms of life. Surface water and groundwater are the primary sources
of drinking water. Human activity has numerous influences on the hydrologic cycle.
The main processes in the cycle include evaporation and transpiration, condensation,
precipitation, infiltration, and runoff.
Humans have significantly altered natural runoff and infiltration patterns and the
balance between these two processes. Construction of impermeable surfaces such as
roads, highways, and parking lots in urban areas create impermeable surfaces that
increase runoff and decrease infiltration. The runoffs subsequently are sent to storm
drains or other drainage systems, reducing aquifer levels. Soil compaction during
agricultural processes will also increase runoff rates. The transport of contaminants
including pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, animal wastes, etc. is increased via
runoff, which often reaches surface waters (ponds, lakes, rivers, etc.). Managed run-
offs are channeled via sewers and drains and can be discharged with or without
treatment. The waters often contain suspended solids that will ultimately become
sediments. The dissolved pollutants also may concentrate on the already present
sediments. Untreated discharge can reduce water quality substantially. Pollutant
source elimination or mitigation of the pollution needs to be practiced, in addition
to water treatment.
Water is a highly precious resource. Less than 5% is nonsaline (Yong, 2001),
while only 0.2% and 0.3% is found in lakes and rivers, respectively. In addition, more
than half to the world’s animal and plant species live in the water. Thus protection of
water quality is highly important. Decreased water quality decreases the water quan-
tity available, particularly where the need is urgent. In developing countries water
use is increasing. Rapid industrialization and urbanization leads to poor water of
insufficient quantities. Water management practices need substantial improvement
to protect ecosystems and public health. Monitoring of river, lake water, and sedi-
ment is not frequently conducted, and therefore the locations of pollutant sources,
intensity, and impact are difficult to determine. Only a limited number of parameters
such as microbial counts are determined.
Agriculture uses large quantities of water. Water use per crop grown needs to
be optimized. Pollutant sources include insecticides, pesticides, fungicides, and
fertilizers. Herbicides and pesticides are persistent and can accumulate in animal
tissues. Nutrients such as nitrates from runoff of animal wastes from pigs or poultry
can severely impact water quality of lakes and rivers (Yamaska River in Quebec,
Canada, for example). Detergents are other sources of nutrients. Accumulation of the
nutrients can lead to eutrophication and subsequent decreases in water color, taste,
and odor. Intensive farming practices have led to increases of phosphorus levels in
the lakes. A lack of nutrient treatment processes for wastewater has also contributed.
Lake water eutrophication is thus becoming an extensive problem. Elevated nutrients
are currently found in many surface waters, and thus even if the input of nutrients
is totally eliminated, recovery may take up to 10 years due to slow flushing rates
(WHO, 1999).
Elevated levels of nitrogen and phosphorus increase the activity of phytoplank-
ton, macrophytes, and other algal groups. Cyanobacteria, which can fix nitrogen,
then may replace phytoplankton, altering the benthic community and other species
in the ecosystem. Oxygen becomes depleted, destroying flora and fauna, in the water
and at the bottom of the water column. Carbon accumulation occurs, followed by
asphyxia and mortality of biota. Nitrogen ingestion by humans can lead to blue-baby
syndrome in infants in particular. Sanitary risks can also increase due to ingestion
of nitrate-containing water.
Worldwide consumption of fertilizers has increased from 14 to 140 million tons
from 1940 to 1999 (Chamely, 2003). One-tenth of these fertilizers contain phospho-
rus, and one-half contain nitrogen. Farming waste, excrement, inadequately main-
tained septic tanks, and detergents are other contributing factors. Nitrates are easily
leached from the soil because both nitrates and the clay particles in the soil are
negatively charged.
Poor agricultural practices and drainage of the fertilizers increases the nitrate
contents in many of the European rivers such as the Meuse (4 mg/L), Rhine (3 mg/L),
Loire and Po (2 mg/L), and Rhone (1.5 mg/L) (Chamely, 2003). North American
rivers such as the Mississippi (1 mg/L) and the Saint Lawrence Rivers (0.25 mg/L)
tend to be lower. These levels have been increasing since the 1960s. The other site
is the des Hurons River, which is a tributary of the Richelieu River that joins the
river on the eastern bank of the Chambly Lake, located east of Montréal, Quebec,
and extends 35 to 40 km northeast of the Chambly Lake. The area of the des Hurons
River is an intensive farming one with corn and wild plants. The river receives high
loads of soil and nutrients due to the agricultural activities in the area. The average
of suspended solids (SS) concentration in the des Hurons River in 2007 and 2008
varied from 5.6 mg/L to 134.0 mg/L, and that of chemical oxygen demand (COD)
and total phosphorus (T-P) varied from 9.0 mg/L to 26.2 mg/L and 0.05 mg/L to
0.43 mg/L, respectively (Inoue et al., 2009). In Europe, phosphate discharges have
been controlled since the ban on phosphate-containing detergents in 1985. Levels
increased from 10 to 90 µg/L in Lake Geneva from the 1960s to the 1970s but have
decreased to 50 µg/L in the 1990s (Chamley, 2003).
The mining industry discharges their wastes into storage dumps, holding ponds,
tailings ponds, and other systems. They can leak, or the structures can fail, allow-
ing discharges into surface water, thus impacting the sediments. Heavy metals in
particular are the most common pollutants from mining activities. Other industrial
activities contribute due to the increased need for goods due to population growth.
Developed countries exhibit high heavy metal contents in suspended solids and
sediments where there has been intense industrial activity. In the Rhine River, con-
centration of cobalt, copper, and cadmium increased from 1900 to the 1970s. Upon
realization of the pollution, implementation of new legislation and modification of
industrial processes occurred, thus decreasing heavy metal and other elements in the
water and sediments during the period of 1975 to 1985. Concentrations of mercury,
lead, zinc, copper, and cadmium increased in the Seine River in France (Meybeck,
2001) from upstream to downstream.
Rivers contribute significantly to the collection and distribution of contaminants.
Farm, industrial, and urban wastes end up in the rivers. The rivers then carry the
suspended solids to coastal areas. Most artificial sedimentary reservoirs for con-
taminant and particle trapping are found in Europe, followed by North America,
Africa, and Australia.
Atmospheric inputs can also be significant. The wind can carry many pollutants
that then fall into water bodies. Nuclear testing and accidents such as the Chernobyl
nuclear plant explosion have contributed fallout to nearby and not so nearby regions.
Acid rain fallout has also been increasing since the late twentieth century. Estimates
are difficult to obtain due to the long-term monitoring requirements and numerical
simulations required.
Solid or liquid residues have been dumped for many years into the marine envi-
ronment. Little monitoring was done prior to the 1970s. Dumped materials included
building and construction wastes, industrial, farm, and domestic wastes, chemical
and radioactive products, and military products (devices, weapons, and explosives).
The dumping has been mainly in deep sea areas greater than 1000 m, although
dredging materials can be in more shallow zones closer to the shore.
Oil spills are well-known environmental risks. They have led to serious pollution
problems in the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska, Nova Scotia, and in many regions in the
English Channel and North Atlantic coast. Less well known is that any other chemi-
cals such as acids, ammonia, heavy metal, fertilizers, pesticides, and other corrosive
materials are also transported, and thus spills along the coasts can impact the envi-
ronment. Long-term dispersion and fate of these chemicals in a marine environment
requires better understanding.
Other modes of hydrocarbon transport can be equally or more important than
oil spills. Owen et al. (1998) estimated that submarine oil field seepage accounts for
15% of marine pollution, which is three times the amount from oil spills (5%). Other
sources include river runoff (41%), tanker dumping or washing (15%), industrial and
municipal discharge (11%), coastal refineries and offshore exploration (6.5%), and
atmospheric sources (4%). It is likely that offshore exploration will increase due to
rising oil prices, and hence the incidences will also become more frequent.
Other contaminants include oil and grease, pesticides, insecticides, and microbial
agents. In Lake Geneva, highest levels were found in the period from 1960 to 1975 of
the hydrocarbons (poly- and hexachlorobenzene) and DDT insecticides (dichlorodi-
phenyltrichloroethane) and the breakdown products. The same trends have been seen
in the sediments of the Great Lakes of North America (Chamley, 2003).
However, in developing countries, significant pollution problems are occurring.
Pathogens are a major problem. The control of pollution is seen as costly and not a
priority in areas where lack of food is a substantial problem. Many wastewater plants
also do not disinfect their effluents before discharge. Pathogens are known to con-
centrate in the sediments.
In densely populated areas, reduction of pollutant discharges is the key. Legislative
standards have been applied and thus are reducing emissions. The legislation must be
implemented and monitored to ensure compliance. However, due to economic pres-
sures on many governments, monitoring is not being strictly carried out. This leaves
individuals and enterprises with the responsibility of limiting environmental damage.
Treatment of discharges to reduce toxicity and minimization of water through reuse
reduces the entry of toxic substances and suspended solids in to the environment.
The hydrosphere refers to all the forms of water on Earth (i.e., oceans, rivers,
lakes, ponds, wetlands, estuaries, inlets, aquifers, groundwater, coastal waters,
snow, ice, etc., as seen in Figure 1.1). The geoenvironment includes all the receiving
waters contained within the terra firma in the hydrosphere. This excludes oceans
and seas, but includes rivers, lakes, ponds, inlets, wetlands, estuaries, coastal marine
waters, groundwater, and aquifers. The marine environment in the geoenvironment
is included based on the discharge of pollutants in the coastal regions via runoffs on
land and polluted waters from rivers or streams.
Microorganisms from agricultural, septic, and sewage discharges are another type
of pollutant. They can contribute to the turbidity, odor, and increased oxygen demand
in the water. Drinking water contaminated with organisms such as Escherichia coli
can lead to severe gastrointestinal diseases and possible death. In a small town 200
km north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Walkerton), more than 2300 people became
ill, and seven died as the result of drinking water from a well contaminated by sur-
face runoff of manure.
1.4 Management of Contaminated Sediments

Dredging of sediments is extensively used for maintenance of rivers, harbors, canals,
and other areas to ensure boat navigation. For example, in France more than 19
Mm3 of sediments are dredged to maintain the Seine, Garonne, and Loire estuaries
(Chamely, 2003). This activity increases the levels of suspended matter in the water
which is subject to transport. In addition, dredged sediments which can contain high
levels of contaminants are either landfilled or ocean disposed. Metals, including
arsenic, cadmium, copper, mercury, nickel, and lead, PCBs, polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAHs), pharmaceuticals, and bacterial and viral contaminants are
often found in the harbor sediments.
Land disposal is similar to the disposal of other wastes. Incineration, confine-
ment, controlled dumping, and chemical stabilization/solidification are some of the
processes employed. Transport of the sediments over long distances may also be
required. There is also the potential for return of the sediments to the water due to
runoff or leaching of the contaminants. Dredging is often delayed due to management
problems, but this can lead to further risks. Ocean disposal can lead to the return of
the contaminants to the shore if the currents transport them. Often sediment dump-
ing at sea is at shallow depths near the coast zone to reduce cost. Harbor sediments,
in particular, can be contaminated. Recently, Sector 103 of the Port of Montreal
was dredged to remove the contamination from heavy metals and hydrocarbons.
In a Great Lakes harbor, navigational dredging has not been performed since 1972,
because there are no economically and environmentally feasible ways to manage the
dredged sediment (USACE, 1995). Ships cannot enter the harbor easily, and loading/
unloading is becoming problematic. All of these problems increased transportation
costs in the Indiana Harbor Ship Canal and decreased shipping capacity by 15%.
Reduction of pollutant release at the source is required to prevent accumulation
of the contaminants in sediments from both point and nonpoint sources. Prevention
and source control programs are required to ensure this. For example, industrial
plants must have adequate treatment and storage systems. Mining is a major source
of heavy metal discharges. Domestic and sanitary sources provide organic inputs
into the waterways. Agricultural fertilizers should not be overused and should be
applied as needed by the plants. Some measures for reduction have been discussed
previously (Yong et al., 2006).
Water is a major transporter of the contaminants from lakes and rivers into the
oceans. In addition, contaminants can be trapped in the sediments of artificial lakes
and waterways where natural discharges are not possible. Strict regulations and sedi-
ment quality monitoring are required. Inventories of sediment quality are needed.
Many have not been updated for many years. As previously discussed, reduction of
the inputs can significantly improve sediment quality. One of the key areas of con-
cern for accumulation of contaminants in the food chain has been the Great Lakes
area. Many years of industrial and municipal discharges have occurred, but little
attention was paid to the state of the bottom sediments until the 1980s. The EPA
Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO) has indicated that contaminated
sediments are the most significant source of contaminants for the food chain in the
Great Lakes rivers and harbors. There are 42 Areas of Concern (AOC), and as a
result more than 1.8 million cubic m3 have been removed from the Basin from 1997
to 2002 (http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/glindicators/sediments/remediateb.html). In
2004, more than 3,221 advisories for the limitation of fish consumption were issued.
More than 35% of the total lake area, 24% of the total river lengths, and 100% of the
Great Lakes and connecting waters were covered, mainly because of the contami-
nation of the sediment (USEPA, 2005). Navigational dredging in harbors and ports
is often not completed due to the cost and concern for water quality and sediment
disposal issues. The Superfund program started to take action regarding about 140
contaminated sediment sites. The most frequently found contaminants were PCBs
(44%) and metals (39%), followed by PAHs (24%), mercury (15%), pesticides (12%),
and a mixture of others (14%).
Much progress has been made in developed countries with regards to recycling
and reduction of pollutants at the source. Tools for the evaluation and characteriza-
tion of contaminants in the sediments will be discussed in a later chapter (Chapter 3).
However, in developing countries the challenges are substantial.
In the ocean, discharges at sea must be reduced. This can allow the natural puri-
fication processes to be exploited. Not only are discharges directly into the sea prob-
lematic but incineration of wastes (vinyl chlorides, PCBs) is also practiced (Salomons
et al., 1988). Dumping has been regulated since the 1970s and consists of building,
construction, and demolition products, industrial, farm, and domestic wastes, and
chemical/radioactive wastes. Most authorized disposal areas in deep seas of more

than 1000 m in depth are located in the Atlantic Ocean near England, Canada, and
the United States. The dispersion of smoke and particles into the atmosphere can
potentially occur and lead to fallouts into the oceans. Mercury can accumulate in
ocean sediments due to this mechanism. River discharges can carry land particulates
to the sea
Erosion and dredging can disperse contaminated sediments into previously uncon-
taminated areas. The effects of dredging need to be minimized and beneficial uses
of dredged material promoted as much as possible. Eutrophication from elevated
nutrient inputs and bioaccumulation in the food chain disrupt the hydrosphere, bio-
sphere, and lithosphere. Remediation management tools as an alternative to dredging
are also required. Monitoring is required to ensure that risk management objectives
are achieved and that source control and prevention are carried out adequately.
1.5 Natural Mitigation Processes

More recently, the assimilative capacity of sediment materials has been exploited as a
means to attenuate the contaminants in the contaminated sediments. The term natu-
ral recovery (NR) has been used to identify the results of contamination attenuation
in the sediments through natural processes. The processes involved are in almost all
respects similar to those available in the corresponding natural attenuation (NA) treat-
ment processes used in the solid land environment and have been described in Yong
and Mulligan (2004). The primary processes involved in NR fall under the category
of bioremediation or biotransformation. These are complex processes that are not
only conditioned by the natural microbial communities and metabolic processes, but
also by the nature of the organic compounds and the other sediment components.
Natural purification processes include sorption, precipitation, biodegradation,
dilution, and dispersion (Figure 1.5). These processes are known as natural attenu-
ation or, in the case of sediments, natural recovery. These will be discussed in more
detail in Chapter 5. Contaminants can accumulate for decades due to sedimentation
in the bottom of lakes and rivers. The risk of contamination of the water due to pro-
peller and boat movement is increased. During floods, sediment erosion is enhanced.
Fluctuating pH conditions also can release poorly bound or unstable fractions of
oxides and organic complexes.
Natural processes for the reduction of the amounts of contaminants in the sedi-
ment have been utilized as a means of purification. Dilution and bacterial activity
are the main processes. However, due to excessive pollutant inputs in areas such
as the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas (Chamely, 2003), the natural properties of
recovery have diminished. In the marine environment in particular, the potential
requires much more understanding to assist in long-term management measures. The
DDT group of insecticides has been discharged off the California coast since 1970
(Zeng and Venkatesan, 1999). The sediments have shown decreasing levels due to
biodegradation and dilution. Additional particle trapping and diffusion outside of the
discharge zone may also have occurred.
The Great Lakes of North America include Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie, and
Ontario. They are the largest fresh water system in the world (USEPA, 1995). More
Suspended
Sedimenting particles
solids
with sorbed pollutants
Land-based and
airborne
Sedimenting contaminants
particles
Suspended
contaminated
solids
Benthic boundary layer flow
Bioturbation by benthic fauna
Chemical exchange across
sediment-water interface
Mobility & resuspension Sediment
of contaminants Benthic-demersal
exchange
Figure 1.5 Processes contributing to contamination and retention of contaminants in the

surface sediment layer.
than 33 million people live near the water. The water is used for consumption, trans-
portation, agriculture, power, recreation, extraction of natural resources, and other
uses. Although at one time 180 fish species lived in the Great Lakes, the number
has decreased substantially due to pollution and loss of habitat. Contaminated sedi-
ments have led to commercial and recreational fishing advisories. Fish tumors and
deformities, degradation of phyto- and zooplankton, eutrophication, and the growth
of undesired plants have increased, and degradation of aesthetics has been noted.
Although impacts must be reduced, sediment remediation has been slow due to a
lack of information regarding the sources and extent of the problem and a lack of
cost-effective remediation technologies, funding limitations, and political problems.
Natural recovery is an attractive solution at many sites in the Great Lakes. Various
case studies will be examined in Chapter 5.
1.6 Bioaccumulation of Contaminants
As sediments are a reservoir for contaminants, the fish and benthic organisms that live
within them can accumulate toxic compounds. The levels can bioaccumulate up the
food chain to birds, fish, and other animals to toxic levels. Neurological, developmen-
tal, and reproductive problems may manifest. In the United States, the EPA reported
that more than 2100 state advisories were issued due to health hazards from consum-
ing fish (USEPA, 1998). Ninety-six watersheds were identified as “areas of probable
concern.” Sediment toxicity tests are now used to evaluate sediment contamination.
The EPA has also proposed that pollution prevention measures should include devel-
opment of guidelines for new chemicals based on bioavailability and partitioning to
sediments. A list of some of the effects of various chemicals is shown in Table 1.1.
Sediment Quality guidelines of the Canadian Ministry of the Environment
(CCME) are based on the chemical concentration in the sediment that causes an
effect on aquatic species (CCME 1999). Two reference values are established, the
threshold effect level (TEL) and the probable effect level (PEL). Recently in Quebec,
three additional reference values were added, the rare effect concentration (REL),
the occasional effect level (OEL) and the frequent effect level (FEL) (Environment
Canada and the Ministère de Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des
Parcs du Québec, 2008). The two latter effect levels are to be used for management
of dredged sediment disposal and remediation decisions. A full list of the assessment
quality criteria levels for a wide variety of chemicals is presented in Appendix A for
fresh and marine sediments. The guidelines have limitations, including the lack of
incorporation of bioaccumulation (accumulation in biological tissues) and biomagni-
fication (accumulation as the concentration goes up the food chain), and the absence
of consideration of other effects such as elevated suspended solids levels and loss of
habitat. The effect on specific species is not considered, in addition to additive, syn-
ergistic, or antagonistic effects. PCBs, pesticides, and methyl mercury are examples
of contaminants that both bioaccumulate and biomagnify.
Contamination and its linkage to society is complex. Economic development and
increasing population put pressure on the environment. How technological develop-
Table 1.1
Chronic Effects of Some Hazardous Wastes
Waste Type Effect
Pesticides Nervous system, liver, kidney effects, possible carcinogen,
mutagen, teratogen
Herbicides (2-4-D* and others) Nervous system, liver, kidney effects, possible carcinogen, mutagen,
teratogen
Polychlorinated biphenyls Potential carcinogen, teratogen
Halogenated organics Carcinogenic and mutagenic risk
Nonhalogenated volatile organics Potential carcinogen and mutagen
Zn, Cu, Se, Cr, Ni, Pb Liver and kidney effects, cancer risk
Hg Nervous and kidney effects, mutagenic and teratogenic risk
Cd Kidney deficiency, cancer risk
As Dermal and nervous system toxicity effects, cancer risk
Cyanides Poisoning
Fecal contaminants Potential digestive system risks
Source: Adapted from Governor’s Office of Appropriate Technology, Toxic Waste Assessment Group,
California, 1981, adapted from Chamley, 2003.
* No reportable information available.
ment and exploitation of the natural processes can be used to minimize environmen-
tal risk will be a subject of this book.
1.7 Sustainable Sediment Management Practices

Once sediments are identified as contaminated after an investigation that indicates
the potential for risk to human health, fisheries, or the environment, then a remedia-
tion methodology must be developed. Strategies for remediation of contaminated
sediments must consider the combination of (1) the nature and distribution of the
contaminated sediments, (2) determination of the nature, properties, and charac-
teristics of the sediments, (3) development of the necessary remediation treatment
technologies that will successfully remove the contaminants from the sediments and
minimize risk during and after remediation, and (4) applying the necessary tech-
nological evaluation and monitoring to support the decontamination treatment and
ensure the sustainability of the remediation.
Present remediation procedures tend to either remove the contaminated sedi-
ments or employ in situ methods to manage contaminated surface sediments. To
a large extent, these methods effectively reduce the bioavailability and transfer of
contaminants into the water column. In situ chemical or biological treatment and
natural processes can be used. Treatment options of dredged materials should also
be considered, particularly to ensure beneficial uses (USACE/USEPA, 2004). This
will contribute to the reduction of the use of nonrenewable geological resources. In
the 1990s, according to Forstner and Apitz (2007), removal was the main approach
utilized in North America and Europe. However, due to the substantial costs for
removal of large volumes and the risks to the environment, in situ management
approaches are becoming more acceptable.
The most common techniques include:
• Environmental dredging following by drying and sediment handling

• Sediment treatment of dredged materials by physical, chemical, and bio-
logical processes
• Containment in contained disposal facilities (CDFs), contained aquatic dis-
posal (CAD), and landfills
• In situ capping
• Monitored Natural Recovery (MNR)
• In situ treatments by chemical or biological processes
Selection of the most appropriate method is difficult and has been the subject of
much discussion. This book will discuss selection criteria and aspects to be consid-
ered during the evaluation of the remediation technology. The process of the evalua-
tion will involve the following steps: characterization and assessment of the problem,
source control implementation, site and sediment characterization, comparison and
assessment of the remediation alternative, selection of the remediation, and determi-
nation of the monitoring and management methodology. Knowledge of the nature
and composition of contaminated sediment is required to avoid resuspension and
remobilization of contaminants. The information obtained will also allow one to
determine the best or most effective means for treatment for remediation of the con-
taminated sediment—consistent with cost-effective considerations. Limitations of
each alternative will be addressed. Each step of this process will be discussed in
this book. Mixtures of heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and chlorohydrocarbons pose
substantial challenges. Regulatory standards and criteria must be met.
Consultation with the public should be done at all phases. This will enable con-
cerns to be identified and addressed early. Some concerns include (USEPA, 2005):
• Human health impacts

• Ecological impacts
• Loss of recreational activities
• Loss of fisheries, property values, development opportunities, tourism
• Identification of all contaminants and their sources
• Loss of commercial navigation
• Loss of traditional cultural aspects by native tribes
Sustainability is an additional element to be considered in an effort to work toward

meeting the goals of sustainability. Resource conservation and management and pres-
ervation of diversity are included. If not, the capability of the aquatic geoenvironment
to provide the basis of life support will be diminished. To be sustainable, the sedi-
ments would need to remain harmless over a long period of time. Ultimately, the
habitat should be restored to enable species preservation and biodiversity regenera-
tion. Sustainability, here, refers to the ability of the system to maintain or preserve
the initial condition, state, or level before contamination. Sustainability of remedi-
ated sediments refers to the ability of the remediated sediments to be preserved in
the remediated condition. The key to a sustainability assessment is to minimize and/
or eliminate health threats to humans.
Revitalization of land and water areas is another key aspect to be considered in
evaluating the sustainability aspects. The use of waterfront properties, harbors, and
water bodies can be substantially enhanced and revitalized by sediment decontami-
nation projects. The various aspects of the Lachine Canal project in the Montreal
area will be discussed in Chapter 9. Land use plans should be reviewed, and land
owners and planning and development agencies should be consulted.
For a remediated sediment treatment to become sustainable, (a) the sediment must
not require retreatment to maintain its remediated state, and (b) it must reestablish its
original uncontaminated benthic ecosystem. Retreatment of contaminated remedi-
ated sediments is not desirable for many reasons and needs to be avoided.
Information on the sources of contaminants provides the nature and composition
of the contaminants. These can be numerous and difficult to identify. They may also
lead to diffuse contamination over large areas. Knowledge of the sources of contam-
inants will provide the means for developing regulations and strategies for managing
or controlling the discharge of contaminants that would eventually find their way
into the receiving waters and impact the sustainability of any remedial action.
The various strategies for remediation of contaminated sediments provide for dif-
ferent results concerning how the contaminants in the sediments are neutralized or
eliminated. Some of the remediation techniques available are listed in Figure 1.6.
Sediment before contamination – i.e.

clean sediment with healthy demersal
fish, benthic organisms and biodiversity
Dredging of contaminated
sediment layer Contaminated Sediment
In-situ capping
Immobilization of
contaminants
In-situ chemical and
biological treatments Remediation Aim
Elimination of bioavailability
of contaminants
Remediated sediment
Re-establishment of
habitat and regeneration
of biodiversity?
Figure 1.6 Alternatives for remediation of contaminated sediments.
The nature of the remediated sediment will have a direct influence on the strategies
and capabilities for sustainability of the remediated sediment to be achieved. These
techniques will be examined in later chapters. The requirements for remediated sed-
iment sustainability are controlled by the information from the short- and long-term
human health risks, regulatory attitudes and goals, economics, and site specifics.
Decision frameworks must be based on a good scientific knowledge of the site.
Figure 1.7 shows that the primary source for resuspension and remobilization of
contaminants in the sediment is the top portion of the contaminated surface sedi-
ment layer. Bioturbation and benthic boundary layer flow, including tidal exchange,
will most likely affect only about the top 30 cm of the surface sediment layer. This
figure shows some of the difficulties of remediating sediment sites. These natural
forces influence contaminant transport.
1.8 Concluding Remarks
Proper management of the aquatic geoenvironment is needed to protect future gen-
erations, but is highly complex. Water quality must not be degraded so that it cannot
be consumed without risk to the health. The same follows for all resources obtained
from the water. Sediment as a natural resource must not be depleted through quality
degradation. Technologies for environmental management for remediation and impact
avoidance would reduce the degradation of sediment quality and will be examined
thoroughly in the following chapters. Protocols and procedures to monitor and manage
changes in the environment will also be required and will be discussed in this book.
Predators-Birds and fish
Leaching
Settling
Resuspension
Microbes/benthos Sediment
Figure 1.7 Interactions of abiotic and biotic elements.
Obtaining sustainable remediated sediment requires (a) source control of con-

taminants entering the ecosystem, (b) natural processes within the surface sediment
layer that maintains the remediated state of the sediment, and (c) restoration of habitat
and reestablishment of biodiversity. Human intervention in providing the necessary
elements for restoration of habitat and reestablishment of biodiversity, after or during
remediation of the contaminated sediment, will provide for sustainable remediated
sediment. However, it must be done in a cost-effective manner.
References
Birch, G. and Taylor, S. 1999. Source of heavy metals in sediment of the Port Jackson estuary,
Australia. Sci. Total Environ. 227: 123–138.
Brils, J.M. 2003. The SedNet Strategy Paper: The opinion of SedNet on environmentally, socially
and economically viable sediment management. SedNet. http://www.SedNet.org.
CCME 1999. Canadian Sediment Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life.
Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment. CCME EPC-98E http://www.ccme.
ca/assets/pdf/sedqg_protocol.pdf.
Chamley, H. 2003. Geosciences, Environment and Man. Elsevier, Amsterdam.
Environment Canada and Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des
Parcs du Québec. 2008. Criteria for the Assessment of Sediment Quality in Quebec and
Application Frameworks: Prevention, Dredging and Remediation.
FÖrstner, U. and Apitz, S.E. 2007. State of the art in the USA. Sediment remediation: U.S.
focus on capping and monitored natural recovery. J. Soil Sediments, 7(6): 351–358.
Inoue, T., Mulligan, C.N., Zadeh, E.M. and Fukue, M. 2009. Effect of contaminated suspended
solids on water and sediment qualities and their treatment. J. ASTM International. 6(3),
pages 1–11, Paper ID JAI102185.
Meybeck, M. 2001. Transport et qualité des sediments fluviaux: Variabilités temporelle et
spatiale, enjeux de gestions. Publication de la Société Hydrotechnique de France. 166th
sess, 11–27.
Owen, O.S., Chiras, D.D. and Reganold, J.P. 1998. Natural Resource Conservation. 7th ed.
Prentice Hall, 594p.
Salomons, W., Bayne, B., Duursma, E.K. and Forstner, U. 1988. Pollution of the North Sea:
An Assessment. Springer, Berlin.
Trevors, J.T. 2003. Editorial: biodiversity and environmental pollution. Water, Air Soil Pollut.
150:1–2.
USACE 1995. Ecosystem Restoration in the Civil Works Program. ER-1105-2-210. USACE
(U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), Washington, DC.
USACE/USEPA 2004. Evaluating environmental effects of dredged material manage-
ment alternatives—A technical framework. EPA 842-B-92-008, U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Washington, DC.
USEPA 1995. Water quality guidance for the Great Lakes system. USEPA. Federal Register
60: 15366-153425.
USEPA 1998. EPA’s Contaminated Sediment Management Strategy. EPA-823-R-98-001,
United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, Washington, DC.
USEPA 2002. Contaminated Sediment Remediation Guidance for Hazardous Waste Sites.
United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency
Response, Washington, DC. Report for OSWER 9355.0-85.
USEPA 2005. Contaminated Sediment Remediation Guidance for Hazardous Waste Sites.
Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Solid Wastes and Emergency Response,
EPA-540-R-05-012, OSWER 9355.0-85, Washington, DC.
Varanasi, U., Casillas, E., Arkoosh, M.R., Hom, T., Misitano, D.A., Brown, D.W., Chan, S.-L.,
Collier, T.K., McCain, B.B., and Stein, J.E. 1993. Contaminant exposure and associated
biological effects in juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorrhyncus tshawytscha) from urban
and nonurban estuaries of Puget Sound, Seattle, WA. National Oceanic and Atmospheric
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Yong, R.N. 2001. Geoenvironmental Engineering: Contaminated Soils, Pollutant Fate and
Mitigation. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
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2 Introduction to Sediments
2.1 Introduction
Parent rock can be broken down by physical and chemical weathering. Weathered
rocks, such as coarse grains and clay minerals, are transported by the flow of water
and are deposited in rivers, lakes, estuaries, and sea areas. These materials form the
sediments in water. On the other hand, smaller particles and materials dispersed
from volcanoes and transported by the wind are called aeolian soil upon deposit.
Soil organic matter degraded by microbial activities is also discharged into riv-
ers, lakes, estuaries, and sea areas with inorganic particles. Furthermore, a variety of
substances are discharged through human activities. These are fed into water through
various channels. Thus, sediments are in contact with inorganic, organic, and other
human-discharged materials, through the influence of the pore water. Therefore, the
properties of the pore water are an important factor regarding the quality of the
sediments. Since the industrial revolution, around 1750, a variety of production and
consumption activities by humans have also created problems associated with waste
materials, because some of the wastes which have been discharged and have accu-
mulated are hazardous or toxic (Cappuyns et al., 2006; Fabris et al., 1999; Fukue et
al., 2007).
Fine particles discharged from land that are easily suspended in water are called
“suspended solids.” They can agglomerate in the water and start settling. Generally,
these particles consist of many fine materials such as clay minerals, organic matter
(including plankton), oxides and hydroxides, etc. They often adsorb nutrients and
hazardous substances, in addition to bacteria and viruses. Figure 2.1 shows an exam-
ple of settling particles in a brackish lake.
There are basically two types of problems related to sediments: eutrophication
with nutrients and contamination with hazardous and toxic substances. Basically, the
adsorption and desorption of contaminants and the degradation of organic particles
can become problematic. Eutrophication and contamination cannot be treated in the
same way, because contaminants are hazardous, whereas nutrients are not.
Sediments are often called “mud,” “sand,” and “gravel,” depending on the nature
of the deposited materials. In fact, this classification has been used for anchoring
ships, and the terms are indicated in the chart. Although these names are mostly
due to the size of sediment particles, they are only generic names. For example,
when sediments are organic rich, or smaller particles, they are often called “mud.”
However, there are detailed classification methods for sediments for scientific and
engineering purposes.
Sediments are often called marine soils or lake soils. They are also called marine-
deposited soils or lake-deposited soils. These are all contained in the categories of
19
Figure 2.1 Settling particles in a brackish lake.
sediments. Therefore, sediments are defined as any solid deposited at the bottom of
a ditch, river, lake, or sea. Accordingly, they are called ditch sediments, river sedi-
ments, lake sediments, or marine sediments, respectively. They can also be sepa-
rated into fresh and marine sediments. The intermediate sediments are sometimes
called brackish sediments. From an environmental point of view, sediments in fresh
water are distinguished from sediments in seawater because of the different associ-
ated food chains and biological concentrations. For example, Canadian guidelines
provide more severe values for the guidelines for marine sediments than for fresh-
water sediments.
In coastal regions, the origin of sediments is mostly the land. However, a portion
of the sediments is produced in water. They are of plankton, authigenic minerals,
crusts, aquatic plants, or other organic origins. Some of these products are buried
with deposits from land, and therefore, the ratio of marine produced to discharged
materials from land is lower near the coasts, but will increase with distance from the
coast. At ocean bottoms far from the coast, the effect of land materials is small, and
thus the sediments consist mainly of products formed under marine conditions. A
typical example is ooze (Wetzel, 1989). Wetzel (1989) investigated the consolidation
of ooze in deep ocean. Diagenesis that occurred there formed chalk and sedimentary
limestone layers.
In general, larger discharged solid particles are transported near the shore and
bottom by water currents and waves, whereas finer particles will disperse further.
They finally settle on the bottom but can move again, depending on the water
action. In this sense, surface sediments are more active than the underlying sedi-
ments. Therefore, erosion is dependent on the balance of the settlement and move-
ment of the sediments. Thus, the reduction in the discharge can cause coastal
erosion. In many cases, the control of soil discharge in mountainous regions has
caused coastal erosion.
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“Are they really going to hang him?” he asked of one who rode
beside him, a total stranger who seemed however not to resent his
presence.
“That’s what they got ’im fer,” answered the stranger.
And think, he thought to himself, to-morrow night he would be
resting in his own good bed back in K——!
Davies dropped behind again and into silence and tried to recover
his nerves. He could scarcely realize that he, ordinarily accustomed
to the routine of the city, its humdrum and at least outward social
regularity, was a part of this. The night was so soft, the air so
refreshing. The shadowy trees were stirring with a cool night wind.
Why should any one have to die this way? Why couldn’t the people
of Baldwin or elsewhere have bestirred themselves on the side of the
law before this, just let it take its course? Both father and son now
seemed brutal, the injury to the daughter and sister not so vital as all
this. Still, also, custom seemed to require death in this way for this. It
was like some axiomatic, mathematic law—hard, but custom. The
silent company, an articulated, mechanical and therefore terrible
thing, moved on. It also was axiomatic, mathematic. After a time he
drew near to the wagon and looked at the negro again.
The latter, as Davies was glad to note, seemed still out of his
sense. He was breathing heavily and groaning, but probably not with
any conscious pain. His eyes were fixed and staring, his face and
hands bleeding as if they had been scratched or trampled upon. He
was crumpled limply.
But Davies could stand it no longer now. He fell back, sick at heart,
content to see no more. It seemed a ghastly, murderous thing to do.
Still the company moved on and he followed, past fields lit white by
the moon, under dark, silent groups of trees, through which the
moonlight fell in patches, up low hills and down into valleys, until at
last a little stream came into view, the same little stream, as it
proved, which he had seen earlier to-day and for a bridge over which
they were heading. Here it ran now, sparkling like electricity in the
night. After a time the road drew closer to the water and then
crossed directly over the bridge, which could be seen a little way
ahead.
Up to this the company now rode and then halted. The wagon was
driven up on the bridge, and father and son got out. All the riders,
including Davies, dismounted, and a full score of them gathered
about the wagon from which the negro was lifted, quite as one might
a bag. Fortunately, as Davies now told himself, he was still
unconscious, an accidental mercy. Nevertheless he decided now
that he could not witness the end, and went down by the waterside
slightly above the bridge. He was not, after all, the utterly relentless
reporter. From where he stood, however, he could see long beams of
iron projecting out over the water, where the bridge was braced, and
some of the men fastening a rope to a beam, and then he could see
that they were fixing the other end around the negro’s neck.
Finally the curious company stood back, and he turned his face
away.
“Have you anything to say?” a voice demanded.
There was no answer. The negro was probably lolling and
groaning, quite as unconscious as he was before.
Then came the concerted action of a dozen men, the lifting of the
black mass into the air, and then Davies saw the limp form plunge
down and pull up with a creaking sound of rope. In the weak
moonlight it seemed as if the body were struggling, but he could not
tell. He watched, wide-mouthed and silent, and then the body
ceased moving. Then after a time he heard the company making
ready to depart, and finally it did so, leaving him quite indifferently to
himself and his thoughts. Only the black mass swaying in the pale
light over the glimmering water seemed human and alive, his sole
companion.
He sat down upon the bank and gazed in silence. Now the horror
was gone. The suffering was ended. He was no longer afraid.
Everything was summery and beautiful. The whole cavalcade had
disappeared; the moon finally sank. His horse, tethered to a sapling
beyond the bridge, waited patiently. Still he sat. He might now have
hurried back to the small postoffice in Baldwin and attempted to file
additional details of this story, providing he could find Seavey, but it
would have done no good. It was quite too late, and anyhow what
did it matter? No other reporter had been present, and he could write
a fuller, sadder, more colorful story on the morrow. He wondered idly
what had become of Seavey? Why had he not followed? Life
seemed so sad, so strange, so mysterious, so inexplicable.
As he still sat there the light of morning broke, a tender lavender
and gray in the east. Then came the roseate hues of dawn, all the
wondrous coloring of celestial halls, to which the waters of the
stream responded. The white pebbles shone pinkily at the bottom,
the grass and sedges first black now gleamed a translucent green.
Still the body hung there black and limp against the sky, and now a
light breeze sprang up and stirred it visibly. At last he arose,
mounted his horse and made his way back to Pleasant Valley, too
full of the late tragedy to be much interested in anything else.
Rousing his liveryman, he adjusted his difficulties with him by telling
him the whole story, assuring him of his horse’s care and handing
him a five-dollar bill. Then he left, to walk and think again.
Since there was no train before noon and his duty plainly called
him to a portion of another day’s work here, he decided to make a
day of it, idling about and getting additional details as to what further
might be done. Who would cut the body down? What about arresting
the lynchers—the father and son, for instance? What about the
sheriff now? Would he act as he threatened? If he telegraphed the
main fact of the lynching his city editor would not mind, he knew, his
coming late, and the day here was so beautiful. He proceeded to talk
with citizens and officials, rode out to the injured girl’s home, rode to
Baldwin to see the sheriff. There was a singular silence and placidity
in that corner. The latter assured him that he knew nearly all of those
who had taken part, and proposed to swear out warrants for them,
but just the same Davies noted that he took his defeat as he did his
danger, philosophically. There was no real activity in that corner later.
He wished to remain a popular sheriff, no doubt.
It was sundown again before he remembered that he had not
discovered whether the body had been removed. Nor had he heard
why the negro came back, nor exactly how he was caught. A nine
o’clock evening train to the city giving him a little more time for
investigation, he decided to avail himself of it. The negro’s cabin was
two miles out along a pine-shaded road, but so pleasant was the
evening that he decided to walk. En route, the last rays of the sinking
sun stretched long shadows of budding trees across his path. It was
not long before he came upon the cabin, a one-story affair set well
back from the road and surrounded with a few scattered trees. By
now it was quite dark. The ground between the cabin and the road
was open, and strewn with the chips of a woodpile. The roof was
sagged, and the windows patched in places, but for all that it had the
glow of a home. Through the front door, which stood open, the blaze
of a wood-fire might be seen, its yellow light filling the interior with a
golden glow.
Hesitating before the door, Davies finally knocked. Receiving no
answer he looked in on the battered cane chairs and aged furniture
with considerable interest. It was a typical negro cabin, poor beyond
the need of description. After a time a door in the rear of the room
opened and a little negro girl entered carrying a battered tin lamp
without any chimney. She had not heard his knock and started
perceptibly at the sight of his figure in the doorway. Then she raised
her smoking lamp above her head in order to see better, and
approached.
There was something ridiculous about her unformed figure and
loose gingham dress, as he noted. Her feet and hands were so
large. Her black head was strongly emphasized by little pigtails of
hair done up in white twine, which stood out all over her head. Her
dark skin was made apparently more so by contrast with her white
teeth and the whites of her eyes.
Davies looked at her for a moment but little moved now by the
oddity which ordinarily would have amused him, and asked, “Is this
where Ingalls lived?”
The girl nodded her head. She was exceedingly subdued, and
looked as if she might have been crying.
“Has the body been brought here?”
“Yes, suh,” she answered, with a soft negro accent.
“When did they bring it?”
“Dis moanin’.”
“Are you his sister?”
“Yes, suh.”
“Well, can you tell me how they caught him? When did he come
back, and what for?” He was feeling slightly ashamed to intrude thus.
“In de afternoon, about two.”
“And what for?” repeated Davies.
“To see us,” answered the girl. “To see my motha’.”
“Well, did he want anything? He didn’t come just to see her, did
he?”
“Yes, suh,” said the girl, “he come to say good-by. We doan know
when dey caught him.” Her voice wavered.
“Well, didn’t he know he might get caught?” asked Davies
sympathetically, seeing that the girl was so moved.
“Yes, suh, I think he did.”
She still stood very quietly holding the poor battered lamp up, and
looking down.
“Well, what did he have to say?” asked Davies.
“He didn’ have nothin’ much to say, suh. He said he wanted to see
motha’. He was a-goin’ away.”
The girl seemed to regard Davies as an official of some sort, and
he knew it.
“Can I have a look at the body?” he asked.
The girl did not answer, but started as if to lead the way.
“When is the funeral?” he asked.
“Tomorra’.”
The girl then led him through several bare sheds of rooms strung
in a row to the furthermost one of the line. This last seemed a sort of
storage shed for odds and ends. It had several windows, but they
were quite bare of glass and open to the moonlight save for a few
wooden boards nailed across from the outside. Davies had been
wondering all the while where the body was and at the lonely and
forsaken air of the place. No one but this little pig-tailed girl seemed
about. If they had any colored neighbors they were probably afraid to
be seen here.
Now, as he stepped into this cool, dark, exposed outer room, the
desolation seemed quite complete. It was very bare, a mere shed or
wash-room. There was the body in the middle of the room, stretched
upon an ironing board which rested on a box and a chair, and
covered with a white sheet. All the corners of the room were quite
dark. Only its middle was brightened by splotches of silvery light.
Davies came forward, the while the girl left him, still carrying her
lamp. Evidently she thought the moon lighted up the room
sufficiently, and she did not feel equal to remaining. He lifted the
sheet quite boldly, for he could see well enough, and looked at the
still, black form. The face was extremely distorted, even in death,
and he could see where the rope had tightened. A bar of cool
moonlight lay just across the face and breast. He was still looking,
thinking soon to restore the covering, when a sound, half sigh, half
groan, reached his ears.
At it he started as if a ghost had made it. It was so eerie and
unexpected in this dark place. His muscles tightened. Instantly his
heart went hammering like mad. His first impression was that it must
have come from the dead.
“Oo-o-ohh!” came the sound again, this time whimpering, as if
some one were crying.
Instantly he turned, for now it seemed to come from a corner of the
room, the extreme corner to his right, back of him. Greatly disturbed,
he approached, and then as his eyes strained he seemed to catch
the shadow of something, the figure of a woman, perhaps, crouching
against the walls, huddled up, dark, almost indistinguishable.
“Oh, oh, oh!” the sound now repeated itself, even more plaintively
than before.
Davies began to understand. He approached slowly, then more
swiftly desired to withdraw, for he was in the presence of an old
black mammy, doubled up and weeping. She was in the very niche
of the two walls, her head sunk on her knees, her body quite still.
“Oh, oh, oh!” she repeated, as he stood there near her.
Davies drew silently back. Before such grief his intrusion seemed
cold and unwarranted. The guiltlessness of the mother—her love—
how could one balance that against the other? The sensation of
tears came to his eyes. He instantly covered the dead and withdrew.
Out in the moonlight he struck a brisk pace, but soon stopped and
looked back. The whole dreary cabin, with its one golden eye, the
door, seemed such a pitiful thing. The weeping mammy, alone in her
corner—and he had come back to say “Good-by!” Davies swelled
with feeling. The night, the tragedy, the grief, he saw it all. But also
with the cruel instinct of the budding artist that he already was, he
was beginning to meditate on the character of story it would make—
the color, the pathos. The knowledge now that it was not always
exact justice that was meted out to all and that it was not so much
the business of the writer to indict as to interpret was borne in on him
with distinctness by the cruel sorrow of the mother, whose blame, if
any, was infinitesimal.
“I’ll get it all in!” he exclaimed feelingly, if triumphantly at last. “I’ll
get it all in!”
THE LOST PHŒBE
They lived together in a part of the country which was not so
prosperous as it had once been, about three miles from one of those
small towns that, instead of increasing in population, is steadily
decreasing. The territory was not very thickly settled; perhaps a
house every other mile or so, with large areas of corn- and wheat-
land and fallow fields that at odd seasons had been sown to timothy
and clover. Their particular house was part log and part frame, the
log portion being the old original home of Henry’s grandfather. The
new portion, of now rain-beaten, time-worn slabs, through which the
wind squeaked in the chinks at times, and which several
overshadowing elms and a butternut-tree made picturesque and
reminiscently pathetic, but a little damp, was erected by Henry when
he was twenty-one and just married.
That was forty-eight years before. The furniture inside, like the
house outside, was old and mildewy and reminiscent of an earlier
day. You have seen the what-not of cherry wood, perhaps, with spiral
legs and fluted top. It was there. The old-fashioned four poster bed,
with its ball-like protuberances and deep curving incisions, was there
also, a sadly alienated descendant of an early Jacobean ancestor.
The bureau of cherry was also high and wide and solidly built, but
faded-looking, and with a musty odor. The rag carpet that underlay
all these sturdy examples of enduring furniture was a weak, faded,
lead-and-pink-colored affair woven by Phœbe Ann’s own hands,
when she was fifteen years younger than she was when she died.
The creaky wooden loom on which it had been done now stood like
a dusty, bony skeleton, along with a broken rocking-chair, a worm-
eaten clothes-press—Heaven knows how old—a lime-stained bench
that had once been used to keep flowers on outside the door, and
other decrepit factors of household utility, in an east room that was a
lean-to against this so-called main portion. All sorts of other broken-
down furniture were about this place; an antiquated clothes-horse,
cracked in two of its ribs; a broken mirror in an old cherry frame,
which had fallen from a nail and cracked itself three days before their
youngest son, Jerry, died; an extension hat-rack, which once had
had porcelain knobs on the ends of its pegs; and a sewing-machine,
long since outdone in its clumsy mechanism by rivals of a newer
generation.
The orchard to the east of the house was full of gnarled old apple-
trees, worm-eaten as to trunks and branches, and fully ornamented
with green and white lichens, so that it had a sad, greenish-white,
silvery effect in moonlight. The low outhouses, which had once
housed chickens, a horse or two, a cow, and several pigs, were
covered with patches of moss as to their roof, and the sides had
been free of paint for so long that they were blackish-gray as to
color, and a little spongy. The picket-fence in front, with its gate
squeaky and askew, and the side fences of the stake-and-rider type
were in an equally run-down condition. As a matter of fact, they had
aged synchronously with the persons who lived here, old Henry
Reifsneider and his wife Phœbe Ann.
They had lived here, these two, ever since their marriage, forty-
eight years before, and Henry had lived here before that from his
childhood up. His father and mother, well along in years when he
was a boy, had invited him to bring his wife here when he had first
fallen in love and decided to marry; and he had done so. His father
and mother were the companions of himself and his wife for ten
years after they were married, when both died; and then Henry and
Phœbe were left with their five children growing lustily apace. But all
sorts of things had happened since then. Of the seven children, all
told, that had been born to them, three had died; one girl had gone to
Kansas; one boy had gone to Sioux Falls, never even to be heard of
after; another boy had gone to Washington; and the last girl lived five
counties away in the same State, but was so burdened with cares of
her own that she rarely gave them a thought. Time and a
commonplace home life that had never been attractive had weaned
them thoroughly, so that, wherever they were, they gave little thought
as to how it might be with their father and mother.
Old Henry Reifsneider and his wife Phœbe were a loving couple.
You perhaps know how it is with simple natures that fasten
themselves like lichens on the stones of circumstance and weather
their days to a crumbling conclusion. The great world sounds widely,
but it has no call for them. They have no soaring intellect. The
orchard, the meadow, the corn-field, the pig-pen, and the chicken-lot
measure the range of their human activities. When the wheat is
headed it is reaped and threshed; when the corn is browned and
frosted it is cut and shocked; when the timothy is in full head it is cut,
and the hay-cock erected. After that comes winter, with the hauling of
grain to market, the sawing and splitting of wood, the simple chores
of fire-building, meal-getting, occasional repairing, and visiting.
Beyond these and the changes of weather—the snows, the rains,
and the fair days—there are no immediate, significant things. All the
rest of life is a far-off, clamorous phantasmagoria, flickering like
Northern lights in the night, and sounding as faintly as cow-bells
tinkling in the distance.
Old Henry and his wife Phœbe were as fond of each other as it is
possible for two old people to be who have nothing else in this life to
be fond of. He was a thin old man, seventy when she died, a queer,
crotchety person with coarse gray-black hair and beard, quite
straggly and unkempt. He looked at you out of dull, fishy, watery
eyes that had deep-brown crow’s-feet at the sides. His clothes, like
the clothes of many farmers, were aged and angular and baggy,
standing out at the pockets, not fitting about the neck, protuberant
and worn at elbow and knee. Phœbe Ann was thin and shapeless, a
very umbrella of a woman, clad in shabby black, and with a black
bonnet for her best wear. As time had passed, and they had only
themselves to look after, their movements had become slower and
slower, their activities fewer and fewer. The annual keep of pigs had
been reduced from five to one grunting porker, and the single horse
which Henry now retained was a sleepy animal, not over-nourished
and not very clean. The chickens, of which formerly there was a
large flock, had almost disappeared, owing to ferrets, foxes, and the
lack of proper care, which produces disease. The former healthy
garden was now a straggling memory of itself, and the vines and
flower-beds that formerly ornamented the windows and dooryard had
now become choking thickets. A will had been made which divided
the small tax-eaten property equally among the remaining four, so
that it was really of no interest to any of them. Yet these two lived
together in peace and sympathy, only that now and then old Henry
would become unduly cranky, complaining almost invariably that
something had been neglected or mislaid which was of no
importance at all.
“Phœbe, where’s my corn-knife? You ain’t never minded to let my
things alone no more.”
“Now you hush, Henry,” his wife would caution him in a cracked
and squeaky voice. “If you don’t, I’ll leave yuh. I’ll git up and walk out
of here some day, and then where would y’be? Y’ain’t got anybody
but me to look after yuh, so yuh just behave yourself. Your corn-
knife’s on the mantel where it’s allus been unless you’ve gone an’
put it summers else.”
Old Henry, who knew his wife would never leave him in any
circumstances, used to speculate at times as to what he would do if
she were to die. That was the one leaving that he really feared. As
he climbed on the chair at night to wind the old, long-pendulumed,
double-weighted clock, or went finally to the front and the back door
to see that they were safely shut in, it was a comfort to know that
Phœbe was there, properly ensconced on her side of the bed, and
that if he stirred restlessly in the night, she would be there to ask
what he wanted.
“Now, Henry, do lie still! You’re as restless as a chicken.”
“Well, I can’t sleep, Phœbe.”
“Well, yuh needn’t roll so, anyhow. Yuh kin let me sleep.”
This usually reduced him to a state of somnolent ease. If she
wanted a pail of water, it was a grumbling pleasure for him to get it;
and if she did rise first to build the fires, he saw that the wood was
cut and placed within easy reach. They divided this simple world
nicely between them.
As the years had gone on, however, fewer and fewer people had
called. They were well-known for a distance of as much as ten
square miles as old Mr. and Mrs. Reifsneider, honest, moderately
Christian, but too old to be really interesting any longer. The writing
of letters had become an almost impossible burden too difficult to
continue or even negotiate via others, although an occasional letter
still did arrive from the daughter in Pemberton County. Now and then
some old friend stopped with a pie or cake or a roasted chicken or
duck, or merely to see that they were well; but even these kindly
minded visits were no longer frequent.
One day in the early spring of her sixty-fourth year Mrs.
Reifsneider took sick, and from a low fever passed into some
indefinable ailment which, because of her age, was no longer
curable. Old Henry drove to Swinnerton, the neighboring town, and
procured a doctor. Some friends called, and the immediate care of
her was taken off his hands. Then one chill spring night she died,
and old Henry, in a fog of sorrow and uncertainty, followed her body
to the nearest graveyard, an unattractive space with a few pines
growing in it. Although he might have gone to the daughter in
Pemberton or sent for her, it was really too much trouble and he was
too weary and fixed. It was suggested to him at once by one friend
and another that he come to stay with them awhile, but he did not
see fit. He was so old and so fixed in his notions and so accustomed
to the exact surroundings he had known all his days, that he could
not think of leaving. He wanted to remain near where they had put
his Phœbe; and the fact that he would have to live alone did not
trouble him in the least. The living children were notified and the care
of him offered if he would leave, but he would not.
“I kin make a shift for myself,” he continually announced to old Dr.
Morrow, who had attended his wife in this case. “I kin cook a little,
and, besides, it don’t take much more’n coffee an’ bread in the
mornin’s to satisfy me. I’ll get along now well enough. Yuh just let me
be.” And after many pleadings and proffers of advice, with supplies
of coffee and bacon and baked bread duly offered and accepted, he
was left to himself. For a while he sat idly outside his door brooding
in the spring sun. He tried to revive his interest in farming, and to
keep himself busy and free from thought by looking after the fields,
which of late had been much neglected. It was a gloomy thing to
come in of an evening, however, or in the afternoon and find no
shadow of Phœbe where everything suggested her. By degrees he
put a few of her things away. At night he sat beside his lamp and
read in the papers that were left him occasionally or in a Bible that
he had neglected for years, but he could get little solace from these
things. Mostly he held his hand over his mouth and looked at the
floor as he sat and thought of what had become of her, and how
soon he himself would die. He made a great business of making his
coffee in the morning and frying himself a little bacon at night; but his
appetite was gone. The shell in which he had been housed so long
seemed vacant, and its shadows were suggestive of immedicable
griefs. So he lived quite dolefully for five long months, and then a
change began.
It was one night, after he had looked after the front and the back
door, wound the clock, blown out the light, and gone through all the
self-same motions that he had indulged in for years, that he went to
bed not so much to sleep as to think. It was a moonlight night. The
green-lichen-covered orchard just outside and to be seen from his
bed where he now lay was a silvery affair, sweetly spectral. The
moon shone through the east windows, throwing the pattern of the
panes on the wooden floor, and making the old furniture, to which he
was accustomed, stand out dimly in the room. As usual he had been
thinking of Phœbe and the years when they had been young
together, and of the children who had gone, and the poor shift he
was making of his present days. The house was coming to be in a
very bad state indeed. The bed-clothes were in disorder and not
clean, for he made a wretched shift of washing. It was a terror to
him. The roof leaked, causing things, some of them, to remain damp
for weeks at a time, but he was getting into that brooding state where
he would accept anything rather than exert himself. He preferred to
pace slowly to and fro or to sit and think.
By twelve o’clock of this particular night he was asleep, however,
and by two had waked again. The moon by this time had shifted to a
position on the western side of the house, and it now shone in
through the windows of the living-room and those of the kitchen
beyond. A certain combination of furniture—a chair near a table, with
his coat on it, the half-open kitchen door casting a shadow, and the
position of a lamp near a paper—gave him an exact representation
of Phœbe leaning over the table as he had often seen her do in life.
It gave him a great start. Could it be she—or her ghost? He had
scarcely ever believed in spirits; and still—— He looked at her fixedly
in the feeble half-light, his old hair tingling oddly at the roots, and
then sat up. The figure did not move. He put his thin legs out of the
bed and sat looking at her, wondering if this could really be Phœbe.
They had talked of ghosts often in their lifetime, of apparitions and
omens; but they had never agreed that such things could be. It had
never been a part of his wife’s creed that she could have a spirit that
could return to walk the earth. Her after-world was quite a different
affair, a vague heaven, no less, from which the righteous did not
trouble to return. Yet here she was now, bending over the table in
her black skirt and gray shawl, her pale profile outlined against the
moonlight.
“Phœbe,” he called, thrilling from head to toe and putting out one
bony hand, “have yuh come back?”
The figure did not stir, and he arose and walked uncertainly to the
door, looking at it fixedly the while. As he drew near, however, the
apparition resolved itself into its primal content—his old coat over the
high-backed chair, the lamp by the paper, the half-open door.
“Well,” he said to himself, his mouth open, “I thought shore I saw
her.” And he ran his hand strangely and vaguely through his hair, the
while his nervous tension relaxed. Vanished as it had, it gave him the
idea that she might return.
Another night, because of this first illusion, and because his mind
was now constantly on her and he was old, he looked out of the
window that was nearest his bed and commanded a hen-coop and
pig-pen and a part of the wagon-shed, and there, a faint mist
exuding from the damp of the ground, he thought he saw her again.
It was one of those little wisps of mist, one of those faint exhalations
of the earth that rise in a cool night after a warm day, and flicker like
small white cypresses of fog before they disappear. In life it had
been a custom of hers to cross this lot from her kitchen door to the
pig-pen to throw in any scrap that was left from her cooking, and
here she was again. He sat up and watched it strangely, doubtfully,
because of his previous experience, but inclined, because of the
nervous titillation that passed over his body, to believe that spirits
really were, and that Phœbe, who would be concerned because of
his lonely state, must be thinking about him, and hence returning.
What other way would she have? How otherwise could she express
herself? It would be within the province of her charity so to do, and
like her loving interest in him. He quivered and watched it eagerly;
but, a faint breath of air stirring, it wound away toward the fence and
disappeared.
A third night, as he was actually dreaming, some ten days later,
she came to his bedside and put her hand on his head.
“Poor Henry!” she said. “It’s too bad.”
He roused out of his sleep, actually to see her, he thought, moving
from his bed-room into the one living-room, her figure a shadowy
mass of black. The weak straining of his eyes caused little points of
light to flicker about the outlines of her form. He arose, greatly
astonished, walked the floor in the cool room, convinced that Phœbe
was coming back to him. If he only thought sufficiently, if he made it
perfectly clear by his feeling that he needed her greatly, she would
come back, this kindly wife, and tell him what to do. She would
perhaps be with him much of the time, in the night, anyhow; and that
would make him less lonely, this state more endurable.
In age and with the feeble it is not such a far cry from the
subtleties of illusion to actual hallucination, and in due time this
transition was made for Henry. Night after night he waited, expecting
her return. Once in his weird mood he thought he saw a pale light
moving about the room, and another time he thought he saw her
walking in the orchard after dark. It was one morning when the
details of his lonely state were virtually unendurable that he woke
with the thought that she was not dead. How he had arrived at this
conclusion it is hard to say. His mind had gone. In its place was a
fixed illusion. He and Phœbe had had a senseless quarrel. He had
reproached her for not leaving his pipe where he was accustomed to
find it, and she had left. It was an aberrated fulfillment of her old
jesting threat that if he did not behave himself she would leave him.
“I guess I could find yuh ag’in,” he had always said. But her
cackling threat had always been:
“Yuh’ll not find me if I ever leave yuh. I guess I kin git some place
where yuh can’t find me.”
This morning when he arose he did not think to build the fire in the
customary way or to grind his coffee and cut his bread, as was his
wont, but solely to meditate as to where he should search for her
and how he should induce her to come back. Recently the one horse
had been dispensed with because he found it cumbersome and
beyond his needs. He took down his soft crush hat after he had
dressed himself, a new glint of interest and determination in his eye,
and taking his black crook cane from behind the door, where he had
always placed it, started out briskly to look for her among the nearest
neighbors. His old shoes clumped soundly in the dust as he walked,
and his gray-black locks, now grown rather long, straggled out in a
dramatic fringe or halo from under his hat. His short coat stirred
busily as he walked, and his hands and face were peaked and pale.
“Why, hello, Henry! Where’re yuh goin’ this mornin’?” inquired
Farmer Dodge, who, hauling a load of wheat to market, encountered
him on the public road. He had not seen the aged farmer in months,
not since his wife’s death, and he wondered now, seeing him looking
so spry.
“Yuh ain’t seen Phœbe, have yuh?” inquired the old man, looking
up quizzically.
“Phœbe who?” inquired Farmer Dodge, not for the moment
connecting the name with Henry’s dead wife.
“Why, my wife Phœbe, o’ course. Who do yuh s’pose I mean?” He
stared up with a pathetic sharpness of glance from under his shaggy,
gray eyebrows.
“Wall, I’ll swan, Henry, yuh ain’t jokin’, are yuh?” said the solid
Dodge, a pursy man, with a smooth, hard, red face. “It can’t be your
wife yuh’re talkin’ about. She’s dead.”
“Dead! Shucks!” retorted the demented Reifsneider. “She left me
early this mornin’, while I was sleepin’. She allus got up to build the
fire, but she’s gone now. We had a little spat last night, an’ I guess
that’s the reason. But I guess I kin find her. She’s gone over to
Matilda Race’s; that’s where she’s gone.”
He started briskly up the road, leaving the amazed Dodge to stare
in wonder after him.
“Well, I’ll be switched!” he said aloud to himself. “He’s clean out’n
his head. That poor old feller’s been livin’ down there till he’s gone
outen his mind. I’ll have to notify the authorities.” And he flicked his
whip with great enthusiasm. “Geddap!” he said, and was off.
Reifsneider met no one else in this poorly populated region until
he reached the whitewashed fence of Matilda Race and her husband
three miles away. He had passed several other houses en route, but
these not being within the range of his illusion were not considered.
His wife, who had known Matilda well, must be here. He opened the
picket-gate which guarded the walk, and stamped briskly up to the
door.
“Why, Mr. Reifsneider,” exclaimed old Matilda herself, a stout
woman, looking out of the door in answer to his knock, “what brings
yuh here this mornin’?”
“Is Phœbe here?” he demanded eagerly.
“Phœbe who? What Phœbe?” replied Mrs. Race, curious as to this
sudden development of energy on his part.
“Why, my Phœbe, o’ course. My wife Phœbe. Who do yuh s’pose?
Ain’t she here now?”
“Lawsy me!” exclaimed Mrs. Race, opening her mouth. “Yuh pore
man! So you’re clean out’n your mind now. Yuh come right in and sit
down. I’ll git yuh a cup o’ coffee. O’ course your wife ain’t here; but
yuh come in an’ sit down. I’ll find her fer yuh after a while. I know
where she is.”
The old farmer’s eyes softened, and he entered. He was so thin
and pale a specimen, pantalooned and patriarchal, that he aroused
Mrs. Race’s extremest sympathy as he took off his hat and laid it on
his knees quite softly and mildly.
“We had a quarrel last night, an’ she left me,” he volunteered.
“Laws! laws!” sighed Mrs. Race, there being no one present with
whom to share her astonishment as she went to her kitchen. “The
pore man! Now somebody’s just got to look after him. He can’t be
allowed to run around the country this way lookin’ for his dead wife.
It’s turrible.”
She boiled him a pot of coffee and brought in some of her new-
baked bread and fresh butter. She set out some of her best jam and
put a couple of eggs to boil, lying whole-heartedly the while.
“Now yuh stay right there, Uncle Henry, till Jake comes in, an’ I’ll
send him to look for Phœbe. I think it’s more’n likely she’s over to
Swinnerton with some o’ her friends. Anyhow, we’ll find out. Now yuh
just drink this coffee an’ eat this bread. Yuh must be tired. Yuh’ve
had a long walk this mornin’.” Her idea was to take counsel with
Jake, “her man,” and perhaps have him notify the authorities.
She bustled about, meditating on the uncertainties of life, while old
Reifsneider thrummed on the rim of his hat with his pale fingers and
later ate abstractedly of what she offered. His mind was on his wife,
however, and since she was not here, or did not appear, it wandered
vaguely away to a family by the name of Murray, miles away in
another direction. He decided after a time that he would not wait for
Jake Race to hunt his wife but would seek her for himself. He must
be on, and urge her to come back.
“Well, I’ll be goin’,” he said, getting up and looking strangely about
him. “I guess she didn’t come here after all. She went over to the
Murrays’, I guess. I’ll not wait any longer, Mis’ Race. There’s a lot to
do over to the house to-day.” And out he marched in the face of her
protests taking to the dusty road again in the warm spring sun, his
cane striking the earth as he went.
It was two hours later that this pale figure of a man appeared in
the Murrays’ doorway, dusty, perspiring, eager. He had tramped all of
five miles, and it was noon. An amazed husband and wife of sixty
heard his strange query, and realized also that he was mad. They
begged him to stay to dinner, intending to notify the authorities later
and see what could be done; but though he stayed to partake of a
little something, he did not stay long, and was off again to another
distant farmhouse, his idea of many things to do and his need of
Phœbe impelling him. So it went for that day and the next and the
next, the circle of his inquiry ever widening.
The process by which a character assumes the significance of
being peculiar, his antics weird, yet harmless, in such a community is
often involute and pathetic. This day, as has been said, saw
Reifsneider at other doors, eagerly asking his unnatural question,
and leaving a trail of amazement, sympathy, and pity in his wake.
Although the authorities were informed—the county sheriff, no less—
it was not deemed advisable to take him into custody; for when those
who knew old Henry, and had for so long, reflected on the condition
of the county insane asylum, a place which, because of the poverty
of the district, was of staggering aberration and sickening
environment, it was decided to let him remain at large; for, strange to
relate, it was found on investigation that at night he returned
peaceably enough to his lonesome domicile there to discover
whether his wife had returned, and to brood in loneliness until the
morning. Who would lock up a thin, eager, seeking old man with iron-
gray hair and an attitude of kindly, innocent inquiry, particularly when
he was well known for a past of only kindly servitude and reliability?
Those who had known him best rather agreed that he should be
allowed to roam at large. He could do no harm. There were many
who were willing to help him as to food, old clothes, the odds and
ends of his daily life—at least at first. His figure after a time became
not so much a commonplace as an accepted curiosity, and the
replies, “Why, no, Henry; I ain’t see her,” or “No, Henry; she ain’t
been here to-day,” more customary.
For several years thereafter then he was an odd figure in the sun
and rain, on dusty roads and muddy ones, encountered occasionally
in strange and unexpected places, pursuing his endless search.
Undernourishment, after a time, although the neighbors and those
who knew his history gladly contributed from their store, affected his
body; for he walked much and ate little. The longer he roamed the
public highway in this manner, the deeper became his strange
hallucination; and finding it harder and harder to return from his more
and more distant pilgrimages, he finally began taking a few utensils
with him from his home, making a small package of them, in order
that he might not be compelled to return. In an old tin coffee-pot of
large size he placed a small tin cup, a knife, fork, and spoon, some
salt and pepper, and to the outside of it, by a string forced through a
pierced hole, he fastened a plate, which could be released, and
which was his woodland table. It was no trouble for him to secure the
little food that he needed, and with a strange, almost religious
dignity, he had no hesitation in asking for that much. By degrees his
hair became longer and longer, his once black hat became an
earthen brown, and his clothes threadbare and dusty.
For all of three years he walked, and none knew how wide were
his perambulations, nor how he survived the storms and cold. They
could not see him, with homely rural understanding and forethought,
sheltering himself in hay-cocks, or by the sides of cattle, whose
warm bodies protected him from the cold, and whose dull
understandings were not opposed to his harmless presence.
Overhanging rocks and trees kept him at times from the rain, and a
friendly hay-loft or corn-crib was not above his humble consideration.
The involute progression of hallucination is strange. From asking
at doors and being constantly rebuffed or denied, he finally came to
the conclusion that although his Phœbe might not be in any of the
houses at the doors of which he inquired, she might nevertheless be
within the sound of his voice. And so, from patient inquiry, he began
to call sad, occasional cries, that ever and anon waked the quiet
landscapes and ragged hill regions, and set to echoing his thin “O-o-
o Phœbe! O-o-o Phœbe!” It had a pathetic, albeit insane, ring, and
many a farmer or plowboy came to know it even from afar and say,
“There goes old Reifsneider.”
Another thing that puzzled him greatly after a time and after many
hundreds of inquiries was, when he no longer had any particular
dooryard in view and no special inquiry to make, which way to go.
These cross-roads, which occasionally led in four or even six

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Sediment Contamination and Management.................1

Chapter 2 Introduction to Sediments................................................................... 19

Chapter 3 Contaminant–Sediment Interactions................................................... 35

3.3 Sorption of Pollutants and Partition Coefficients..................... 41

Chapter 4 Remediation Assessment, Sampling, and Monitoring........................ 71

Chapter 5 Natural Recovery of Contaminated Sediments................................. 109

Chapter 6 In Situ Remediation and Management of Contaminated

Chapter 7 Dredging and the Remediation of Dredged Contaminated

Chapter 8 Management and Evaluation of Treatment Alternatives for

8.6 Selection of Technologies.......................................................224

Chapter 9 Current State and Future Directions................................................. 241

Australia and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and

We wish to acknowledge the benefit of all the interactions and discussions we

Geoenvironmental Research Association in Japan. He invented a filtration system

• Loss of biodiversity and living resources

Also called Lithosphere Life zone including

Aquatic life zones

1.2 Sustainable Development and the

1.3 Sources of Pollutants

Goods and services –

Industrialization, Urbanization, Agricultural Activities

Sediment and Water Quality, and Threat Management

Site Contamination, Management, and Remediation

Precipitation falling Spills, diffuse

Heavy metals are common inorganic pollutants in the geoenvironment. These

Anthropogenic activities such as landfills, metal extraction, and metal plating

1.4 Management of Contaminated Sediments

chemical/radioactive wastes. Most authorized disposal areas in deep seas of more

1.5 Natural Mitigation Processes

Figure 1.5 Processes contributing to contamination and retention of contaminants in the

1.7 Sustainable Sediment Management Practices

• Environmental dredging following by drying and sediment handling

• Human health impacts

Sustainability is an additional element to be considered in an effort to work toward

Sediment before contamination – i.e.

Figure 1.6 Alternatives for remediation of contaminated sediments.

Predators-Birds and fish

Figure 1.7 Interactions of abiotic and biotic elements.

Obtaining sustainable remediated sediment requires (a) source control of con-

Figure 2.1 Settling particles in a brackish lake.

1.2 Sustainable Development and the