Metal and petroleum hydrocarbon contamination at Wilkes Station, East Antarctica
Abstract The management of sediment and water contamination from legacy waste is a significant problem in Antarctica. Although several reports have noted that there are contaminated sites at the abandoned Wilkes Station, a systematic attempt to assess the spatial scale of the problem has not been ma...
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0954102014000443 2024-05-19T07:29:59+00:00 Metal and petroleum hydrocarbon contamination at Wilkes Station, East Antarctica Fryirs, Kirstie A. Hafsteinsdóttir, Erla G. Stark, Scott C. Gore, Damian B. 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102014000443 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102014000443 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Antarctic Science volume 27, issue 2, page 118-133 ISSN 0954-1020 1365-2079 journal-article 2014 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102014000443 2024-05-02T06:50:48Z Abstract The management of sediment and water contamination from legacy waste is a significant problem in Antarctica. Although several reports have noted that there are contaminated sites at the abandoned Wilkes Station, a systematic attempt to assess the spatial scale of the problem has not been made, making development of clean-up or preservation programmes difficult. A contaminated site assessment for the old Wilkes Station and surrounds is presented in this paper. The Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC) sediment and water quality guidelines and background concentration levels (BCL) were used to assess the extent of contamination across Clark Peninsula. Of 67 sediment sites sampled, 72% were contaminated with at least one metal or metalloid, with values exceeding the ANZECC ISQG-High or 2 x BCL. Moreover, 19% were contaminated with four or more metals/metalloids. Of the 93 water samples collected, all but one was contaminated with at least one metal/metalloid concentration exceeding the guidelines, and 96% were contaminated with two or more metals/metalloids. For hydrocarbons in sediment and water, most samples were below quantitation limits. There is a complex pattern of contamination across Clark Peninsula that needs to be considered in future waste treatment, containment or removal operations, and for protection of heritage items. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Science Antarctica East Antarctica Cambridge University Press Antarctic Science 27 2 118 133 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
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crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract The management of sediment and water contamination from legacy waste is a significant problem in Antarctica. Although several reports have noted that there are contaminated sites at the abandoned Wilkes Station, a systematic attempt to assess the spatial scale of the problem has not been made, making development of clean-up or preservation programmes difficult. A contaminated site assessment for the old Wilkes Station and surrounds is presented in this paper. The Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC) sediment and water quality guidelines and background concentration levels (BCL) were used to assess the extent of contamination across Clark Peninsula. Of 67 sediment sites sampled, 72% were contaminated with at least one metal or metalloid, with values exceeding the ANZECC ISQG-High or 2 x BCL. Moreover, 19% were contaminated with four or more metals/metalloids. Of the 93 water samples collected, all but one was contaminated with at least one metal/metalloid concentration exceeding the guidelines, and 96% were contaminated with two or more metals/metalloids. For hydrocarbons in sediment and water, most samples were below quantitation limits. There is a complex pattern of contamination across Clark Peninsula that needs to be considered in future waste treatment, containment or removal operations, and for protection of heritage items. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Fryirs, Kirstie A. Hafsteinsdóttir, Erla G. Stark, Scott C. Gore, Damian B. |
spellingShingle |
Fryirs, Kirstie A. Hafsteinsdóttir, Erla G. Stark, Scott C. Gore, Damian B. Metal and petroleum hydrocarbon contamination at Wilkes Station, East Antarctica |
author_facet |
Fryirs, Kirstie A. Hafsteinsdóttir, Erla G. Stark, Scott C. Gore, Damian B. |
author_sort |
Fryirs, Kirstie A. |
title |
Metal and petroleum hydrocarbon contamination at Wilkes Station, East Antarctica |
title_short |
Metal and petroleum hydrocarbon contamination at Wilkes Station, East Antarctica |
title_full |
Metal and petroleum hydrocarbon contamination at Wilkes Station, East Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Metal and petroleum hydrocarbon contamination at Wilkes Station, East Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Metal and petroleum hydrocarbon contamination at Wilkes Station, East Antarctica |
title_sort |
metal and petroleum hydrocarbon contamination at wilkes station, east antarctica |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102014000443 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102014000443 |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Science Antarctica East Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Science Antarctica East Antarctica |
op_source |
Antarctic Science volume 27, issue 2, page 118-133 ISSN 0954-1020 1365-2079 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102014000443 |
container_title |
Antarctic Science |
container_volume |
27 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
118 |
op_container_end_page |
133 |
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1799482917304401920 |