Sinclair Inlet

Figure 2. Location of sampling stations at Lake Washington and Sinclair Inlet, Washington.

Figure 4c. Concentration profile of the trace metals Pb, Cu, Cr, Zn, and Ni and the estimated dates of sediment core sections from Sinclair Inlet, Washington (Station SIN 2).

Benninger et al., [3] found values of about 1 dpm cm 2 yr for the deposition rate of 210Pb in soils and sediments near New Haven, Connecticut and Long Island. Recent measurements in Puget Sound at Sinclair Inlet by W. R. Schell (unpublished data), indicated that the deposition rate was about 0.35 dpm cnr yr. Thus, to explain the very high and variable values for the 210Pb deposition rate at the deep ocean stations, one must propose a mechanism whereby material from the topmost layers of sediments near the Atlantic Disposal Site is transported and re-deposited at these stations. 

Increases in Pb concentrations of 30 times have been measured in Lake Washington caused mainly through the burning of leaded fuel in internal combusion engines. Significant increases in the concentrations of Zn (6 times), Pb (13 times), and Cu (8 times) have been introduced by man s activity near Sinclair Inlet, probably as a result of shipyard s activities. 

I would like to acknowledge the assistance given by Robert S. Barnes for the Lake Washington Studies, by the students in 1979, 1980 Fisheries 477, 478 classes for the Sinclair Inlet studies and by Susan Sugai and Ahmad Nevissi for the radiochemical measurements in the ocean studies. 

A summary comparison of the data based on effects frequencies of sediment bioassays and in-situ studies (i.e., bottom fish histopathology) indicates that roughly similar sediment contaminant concentrations produce both types of biological responses (Table 6-4). Bioassay data are divided into those frequencies of effects that contain all rural areas (e.g., Case Inlet), and those that contain only urban, industrialized areas (Sinclair Inlet, Commencement Bay Waterways, and Elliott Bay Waterfront and the Duwamish River). Bottom fish histopathology data are divided into frequencies of occurrence of up to 5% and those that are greater than 5% (Table 6-4). 

In conjunction with a study to determine benthic fluxes (55), sediment was sampled in Sinclair Inlet and the Puget Sound Naval Ship Yard in Bremerton, WA... 

Figures. Station locations in Sinclair Inlet, western Puget Sound. Naval Shipyard is in the city of Bremerton, WA.

Figure 4, Measured (M and calculated (0) freely-dissolved fluoranthene at Sinclair Inlet, WA, station 5B.

If only sediment concentrations were used in this assessment, the naval shipyard area of Sinclair Inlet could be considered a Site of Concern (57) as the proposed national ESG for PAH mixtures was exceeded at a majority of sites among the piers of that facility. However, when the assessments were made on the basis of IW determinations of freely-dissolved concentrations, none among the pier sediment exceeded the ESG. The magnitude of J ESGTUfcv.tot values would not have been sufficient to elicit significant mortality in short-term sediment bioassays which were not done. The consequences of actual values in the 1-3 range might... 

This study was conducted in Sinclair Inlet, one of several bays located in western-central Puget Sound basin in Washington State (Figure 3 of Ozretich et al., this volume). The inlet is bordered by two population centers, Bremerton on the north and Port Orchard on the south. The Bremerton shoreline is dominated by the piers and shipyard facilities of the PSNS, while the Port Orchard shoreline is characterized by several small marinas and low density development. 

With the occasional exception of PCB congener 110, no apparent signals of other congeners were observed consequently, there will be no further discussion of PCBs. Average values (+ 1 SE) for blank-corrected (net) concentrations of the 24 target PAH determined in ambient near-bottom water triplicate samples from site 5B, and for the duplicate procedural (bottle) blanks, are listed in Table 1. Concentrations of TOC and the major PAH compounds analyzed in surficial sediment from the ten Sinclair Inlet sites are listed in Table 2. 

Table 2. Concentrations of TOC (percent dry wt.) and PAHs (pg(g organic carbon) in surfidal sediment (0-5 cm) collected from ten sites within Sinclair Inlet of Puget Sound, WA (July 1991). (Site locations shown in Figure 3 of Ozretich et al., this volume).

Despite the high levels of surficial sedin nt contamination by PAH compounds in Sinclair Inlet found in this study, the san5>ling and analysis technique reported here revealed relatively low PAH concentrations in the unfiltered water samples collected from above these sediments. Reported thresholds of toxicity to aquatic organisms typically exceed the water concentrations measured here by at least three orders-of-magnitude (7). 

Chadwick, D. B. Lieberman, S. H. Reimers, C. E. Young, D. R. An evaluation of contaminant flux rates from sediments of Sinclair Inlet, WA, using a benthic device. Technical Document 2434, Naval Command, Control and Ocean Surveillance Center, San Diego, CA 92152-5001 1993, 95 pp. 

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