Re-shaping the “original SIN”: a need to re-think sediment management and policy by introducing the “buffer zone” concept

• Published in: Journal of soils and sediments Vol. 20; no. 6; pp. 2563 - 2572
• Main Authors: Tamburrino, Stella, Passaro, Salvatore, Manta, Daniela Salvagio, Quinci, Enza, Ausili, Antonella, Romano, Elena, Sprovieri, Mario
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-06-2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Anthropogenic factors; Bathymetric data; Biogeochemistry; Buffer zones; Cadmium; Chromium; Coastal zone; Contaminants; Copper; Deep sea; Dynamics; Earth and Environmental Science; Environment; Environmental impact; Environmental management; Environmental Physics; Fluid dynamics; Fluid flow; Geomorphology; Grain size; Heavy metals; Human influences; Hydrodynamics; Industrialization; Lead; Marine sediments; Mercury; Mercury (metal); Metals; Nickel; Ocean floor; Policies; Pollutants; Pollution effects; Radioisotopes; Radionuclide kinetics; Sediment; Sediment pollution; Sedimentology; Sediments; Sediments as a Dynamic Natural Resource – From Catchment to Open Sea; Size distribution; Soil Science & Conservation; Trace metals; Water pollution; Zinc; Buffer zone; National relevance site (SIN); Highly contaminated areas; Coastal-to-deep-sea pollution; Sediments management
• ISSN: 1439-0108; 1614-7480
• DOI: 10.1007/s11368-019-02486-1

Purpose
The effects of long-standing industrialization processes and poor environmental management practices have often left a harmful legacy for marine-coastal sites worldwide, causing a wide range of unforeseen impacts on the ecosystem and on human health. A critical revision of available data from three highly contaminated Italian sites (Augusta Bay, Sicily; Cagliari Gulf, Sardinia; Pozzuoli Bay, Campania) revealed the crucial role of biogeochemical/physical dynamics and potential widespread delivery of contaminants as key components for a wider comprehensive sediment management.
Materials and methods
Datasets of organic pollutants (ΣPAHs, ΣPCBs), heavy metals (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn), radionuclides, and grain size composition of marine sediments of all three sites were critically reviewed and seafloor bathymetric data were analyzed.
Results and discussion
A critical review of available physical and chemical information of sediments collected from the three marine sites provides a better understanding of the physical and biogeochemical dynamics of large-scale dispersion of contaminants in those areas, as well as new insights in terms of improved sediments management policies with actions of larger scale monitoring of the “buffer zone
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confining with the national relevance and highly contaminated site to trace inputs and accumulation effects of pollutants deriving from the point-source.
Conclusions
This study demonstrates how the presence of polluted sediments on the coastal areas can have, also after the closure of anthropogenic activities, a potential impact at a large scale. Then to better evaluate the effective impact, we suggest the adoption of a buffer zone contiguous to the national relevance sites (SIN) area. While SINs are optimized to define the state of the art of the near-source pollution, buffer zones may help to outline the rate of delivery of pollutants to the deep sea. Buffer zones must be designed by taking into account the local hydrodynamics, sedimentology, and geomorphology, and should be monitored, even if at a lower resolution, like SINs.