Sewage sludge dumping and contamination of Liverpool Bay sediments

The results of four MAFF surveys (1975–1980) of the sediments in and around the sewage sludge dumping site in Liverpool Bay are presented. Sediments were analysed for particle size distribution, organic carbon concentrations and concentrations of Hg, Cd, Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni and Cr. Concentrations of organic carbon and metals were found to be elevated in the fine ( < 90 μm) fraction in areas associated with the major inputs of these substances to the bay—near the mouth of the Mersey, near the sewage sludge dumping site and at the dredged spoil dumping site.In an attempt to determine any temporal trends between surveys, stations were grouped into four 8×8 km areas from offshore of the dumping ground to the mouth of the Mersey. Changes in the metal concentrations in sediments in the square nearest the sewage sludge dumping site were larger than in the other squares including that nearest the Mersey. Comparison of temporal trends near the sewage sludge site with the quantities actually dumped showed a correlation between the two, consistent with sewage sludge dumping being a major contributor to the metal levels in fine sediments near the dumping ground.