The study was performed by the Consulting Centre for Integrated Sediment Management, Hamburg Technical University, Hamburg, Germany, on behalf of the Hamburg Port Authority and the Elbe River Community. Its objective is to identify and quantify the risk from contaminated sediments in the German Elbe basin for catchment uses like habitat, human health and nutrition, agriculture and navigation. On the basis of sediment and suspended particulate matter (SPM) data from the last 10 years, (i) substances of concern, (ii) areas of concern, and (iii) areas of risks were identified. Risks were assessed by comparing SPM data with the respective sediment quality guidelines. In order to quantify the extent of contaminant reduction, necessary to reduce the risks to an acceptable level, and to prioritize the relevance of the different subcatchments for the basin wide contamination, loads of particle bound contaminants rather than concentrations had to be calculated and put in relation to each other at high and low water discharges. The Czech part of the Elbe, Mulde and Saale contributed most to the overall contamination.

The study can be downloaded at http://bis.tutech.de and http://www.tideelbe.de where also the summaries of this study and a preceding one can be found in English, German, and Czech.and http://fgg-elbe.de

(Source: www.SedNet.org)

River Basin Management - Project reports