Dioxin in the Elbe river basin: policy and science under the water framework directive 2000–2015 and toward 2021

Förstner, Ulrich; Hollert, Henner; Brinkmann, Markus; Eichbaum, Kathrin; Weber, Roland; Salomons, Wim

doi:10.1186/s12302-016-0075-8

Environmental Sciences Europe

Table 4 Criteria for the selection and prioritization of recommendations with regard to quality aspects during the sustainable handling of sediments and dredged materials (after “sediment management concept” of the river basin community Elbe (RBC Elbe 2013, Table 6-6 [7])

From: Dioxin in the Elbe river basin: policy and science under the water framework directive 2000–2015 and toward 2021

Region of origin (source type)	Substances (health)	Direct source	Near-source	Degree of difficulty	Success potential	Remediation measures
Sanitation contaminated sites within or along rivers/creeks/ditches
Within Spittelwasser pre-2002 (1995 - ?)	α-, β-, γ-HCH; Dioxins/Furans	Yes	–	(Medium)	(High)	Excavation, incineration^d
Along Spittelwasser post-2002 (2013)	α-, β-, γ-HCH; Dioxins/Furans	–	Yes	Medium	Medium	Stabilization ^e In situ, AC
Elimination interim sediment depots
Saale ^a (side structures)	Hg, Cd, Pb; α-, β-, γ-HCH; benzo(a)pyrene; dioxins/furans	No	Yes	Medium	??	LHW (2015)^f
Saale^a (lock reservoirs)	Hg, Cd, Pb; α-, β-, γ-HCH; benzo(a)pyrene; dioxins/furans	No	Yes	Medium	??	LHW (2015)^f
Lower Bode river ^a (sedimentation zones)	Dioxins/furans; Pb	No	Yes	Medium	??	LHW (2015)^f
Elbe below km 300 (side structures)^b	Hg, Cd, Pb, As; α-, β-, γ-HCH; HCB, B(a)pyrene; Dioxins/Furans	No	No	Medium	High	Capping ^g Hitzacker/E
Elbe below km 350 (Groin fields)^c		No	No	Medium	??	–

In italic letters: own experience with stabilization^e and active capping^g technologies
^aSaale and tributaries. In the navigable section of the Saale river approx. 190,000 tons of fine-grained sediments are deposited (spectrum of pollutants relevant to the river Elbe, incl. dioxins and furans), of which approx. 75 % are classified as remobilizable [(G.E.O.S. 2013 [71]; Wieprecht et al. 2013 [72]). In the Bode River 37,000 tons of fine-grained sediment were found (e.g., weir Stassfurt), 75 % remobilizable, lower Bode river high concentrations of dioxins and furans. The highest concentrations of dioxin—2220 bzw. 6650 ng I-TEQ/kg—were found in deeper layers of core sediments downstream from Stassfurt, where one of the production sites for light metals was located; see introductory section)
^bElbe river side structures (harbors, cut-off meanders, bays, blind channels; > 1.000, approx. 50 km²) comprise a total discharge potential of 20–100 Mio tons; 80 % located in the Elbe river section downstream from km 300 (Heise et al. 2013 [73])
^cGroin fields. The Inland Elbe River exhibits 6.600 Groin fields which play a role as interim storage for the fine sediment transport, estimated for 1.3 Mio tons along the Elbe; more than 80 % of the muddy, relatively easily remobilizable material is located downstream of Elbe-km 350 (Hillebrand et al. 2014 [74])
^dExcavation/Incineration. Feasibility Study for the Sanitation of the “Spittelwasser” Sediments (Anonymous 1993 [39]); see “Spittelwasser remediation project (feasibility study 1993)” section
^eSolidification techniques at the TUHH 1982–2005 (examples [75–79]
^fInitial plans for remediation measures were presented at the 23rd Chemical Colloquium of the German Federal Institute of Hydrology in Koblenz, June 11–12, 2015, by Petra Kasimir and Heinz-Jürgen John (Agency for Flood Protection and Water Management of Saxony-Anhalt [51]
^gDemonstration plant Hitzacker/Elbe has been planned as the final step in a BMBF Research Project on Active Capping (1997–2003, Jacobs and Förstner [80–84])

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