Embedded Files
Dredging project
Dredging project
Sponsor
Sponsor
University of Michigan
People
People
Jacob Kvasnicka (jkvas@umich.edu)
Katerina S. Stylianou (kstylian@umich.edu)
Vy K. Nguyen (nguyenvy@umich.edu)
Lei Huang (huanglei@umich.edu)
Olivier Jolliet (ojolliet@umich.edu)
Keywords
Keywords
Environmental dredging, human health risk, PCB, fish consumption, particulate matter.
Project summary
Project summary
Assessing human health benefits and risks of contaminated sediment remediation alternatives
Billions of dollars have been spent on environmental dredging projects to remediate contaminated sediments, with billions more slated for this; however, the extent to which this remedy can reduce human health risks needs to be quantified on a population scale and compared with potentially induced risks. This study is the first to do so, focusing on the Hudson River Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) Superfund Site remediation (2009-2015). Expressed in disability-adjusted life years (DALY) with approximate 95% confidence intervals (CI), we quantify the potentially avoided cumulative population health burden from reduced PCBs in Hudson River fish, and the potentially induced burden of increased air emissions of PCBs, fatal occupational incidents, and emissions of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from diesel-powered equipment. For a No Action scenario, the central estimate health burden attributable to bioaccumulation of PCBs in Hudson River fish and exposure through fish consumption is 11 DALY. Implementing a source control action under Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA) achieves an avoided burden of 4 DALY (CI 0.06 to 321 DALY) over No Action, while dredging achieves an additional 1 DALY (CI 0.02 to 102 DALY) of avoided burden. The estimated total burden induced by dredging is 40 DALY (CI 7 to 148 DALY), which is dominated by rail transport of PCB waste across the US (25 DALY, CI 4 to 153 DALY), and fatal occupational incidents (14 DALY, CI 0 to 88 DALY). Future decisions on the need for removing contaminated sediments should better weigh health risks associated with dredging activities.
Publications
Publications
Peer-reviewed journal articles
Jacob Kvasnicka, Katerina S. Stylianou, Vy K. Nguyen, Lei Huang, Weihsueh A. Chiu, G. Allen Burton Jr., Jeremy Semrau, and Olivier Jolliet. (2019). "Human Health Benefits and Risks of Contaminated Sediment Remediation: Dredging of the Hudson River". Environmental Health Perspective. Under review.
Presentation
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