ASSESSING THE ULTRAVIOLET OPTICAL SCREENING TOOL FOR DELINEATING AN IN-SITU, WATER-COVERED, CONTAMINATED SEDIMENT LAYER

Abstract

A stabilization lagoon in Pictou County, NS, has been receiving industrial wastewater for the past 50+ years and is slated for remediation. Conventional sampling has identified a layer of black effluent influenced sediment contaminated with dioxins and furans overlying an uncontaminated grey estuarine influenced sediment. In this thesis, laboratory and field testing on the sediments are presented as a proof of concept for a unique application of the Ultraviolet Optical Screening Tool (UVOST). This research presents an alternative use for the UVOST; the ability to delineate the spatial distribution of an organic-rich, unconsolidated, water-covered sediment, contaminated with dioxins, furans, and elevated metals. The results of this study indicate that the UVOST can be utilized at freshwater aquatic sites to delineate an organic-rich sediment which overlays a clastic sediment layer. The resolution of the acquired data was shown to provide multiple surface elevations (i.e. water and sediment layers) simultaneously.