Ecological Evaluation Technical Guidance - State of New Jersey

indicates burial of potential dioxin-impacted soil and sediment (or ash), such asthrough landfilling operations, soil re-working activities on site, or long-termaccretion of clean sediments. In these situations, alternate depths are targetedbased on site information and conditions. For fly ash or combustion wastesources, sample intervals may be guided by visual evidence of the ash.Depending on historic site operations, best professional judgment should be usedregarding the decision to limit the field sampling and analysis plan and the TEQprocess to only dioxin and furans or only dioxin-like PCB congeners, or toevaluate both contaminant classes.Detailed specifics regarding the TEQ approach can be found in Appendix I.6.4.9 Historic Fill Material and Dredged MaterialCertain areas of sites and ESNRs associated with sites may have, over time,received industrial fill material or dredged materials. This practice was likely tohave been more common at sites adjacent to water bodies where fill was used tocreate upland or to improve grade, and where low-lying areas provided for easydeposition of dredged materials. During the SI, COPECs may be found in soil,surface water, and sediment collected from these areas, yet the source of thesechemicals may have little or no link to past or present site operations. Theidentification of historic fill and dredged materials and management options forthese areas should be evaluated during the SI and RI in accordance with N.J.A.C.7:26E–3.12 & 4.7 and the Historic Fill Guidance document. Examples of tools toaid in the identification of historic fill and dredged materials include review ofhistorical documentation and the inclusion of soil or sediment assessmenttechniques, such as grain size, TOC, and various soils parameters (e.g., redoxpotential) with sample analyses from areas suspected to have received fill ordredged materials.For ecological purposes, areas of historic fill and dredged materials should beconsidered as potential contaminant sources to ESNRs and should be investigatedpursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:26E-1.16 and 4.8. Regardless of whether the contaminantsare considered site-related, if adverse ecological effects from the historic fill ordredged materials are documented, remediation may be required. Capping is apresumptive remedy for historic fill or dredged materials in upland (non-ESNR)areas. Alternative remedies should be considered if capping would result inadverse impacts to the ESNR.6.4.10 Acid-Volatile Sulfides/Simultaneously Extracted MetalsBioavailability and associated toxicity of some divalent metals found in anoxicsediment has been linked to the presence of acid-volatile sulfides (AVS) and theirrelationship to simultaneously extracted metals (SEM). The USEPA hasrecommended the use of the AVS/SEM ratio as a predictor of the bioavailabilityof these metals in sediment (USEPA, 2005b).The AVS component of sediment is comprised of a variety of reduced sulfurcompounds, quantified using a cold acid extraction. The SEM componentincludes the reactive metal fraction (including cadmium, copper, lead, nickel,Ecological Evaluation Technical Guidance Document 78Version 1.2 8/29/12