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Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay Pollution Characterization
In 2000, sewage discharges, from the former Deer Island wastewater treatment facility outfall in Boston Harbor, were relocated to a new outfall in Massachusetts Bay . In March 2004, the Chemical Impacts Team used the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster to collect benthic fish and sediment samples in Boston Harbor , Massachusetts Bay, Cape Cod Bay and Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Scientists will compare the samples taken in 2004 with samples taken between 1984 and 1991 to determine the effects of the relocating the Boston area's secondary treatment effluent discharge from the shallow areas of Boston Harbor to Massachusetts Bay .
Boston Harbor and the Stellwagen Basin are long-term sinks for fine-grained sediments and associated organic contaminants. Fine-grain sediments accumulate in the Boston Harbor estuary because of its restricted flushing and low wave action. Fine grained sediments and lipophilic contaminants also accumulate in the Stellwagen Basin , the deepest part of the Massachusetts Bay system.
Monitoring near the Deer Island outfall previously revealed high concentrations of organic contaminants in the sediments and tissues, and fish with fin erosion and other pathological conditions. Because of the removal of the major source of sewage to Boston Harbor , a lower incidence of fish disease is expected in Boston Harbor . Scientists also expect decreasing trends for lipophilic contaminants in both sediments and fish. Sampling around the new outfall will attempt to determine if relocating the sewage outfall has resulted in negative environmental consequences further offshore.
The 1984 to 1991 samples were taken as part of the joint NOS-NMFS National Benthic Surveillance Project.
NOAA's Ocean Service, NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service and National Institute of Science and Technology are collaborating on this project.
Project Partners
NOAA's Ocean Service
National Marine Fisheries Service
National Institute of Science and Technology