Spatiotemporal evaluation of water quality, metal pollution, and human health risks in a dredged Urban River, New Jersey, USA

• Published in: Environmental geochemistry and health Vol. 47; no. 7; p. 283
• Main Authors: Soetan, Oluwafemi, Zhu, Qingzhi, Feng, Huan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.07.2025; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Alkalinity; Anthropogenic factors; Aquatic life; Aquatic organisms; Biodiversity; Bottom trawling; Carcinogens; Chlorophyll; Combined sewers; Contaminated sediments; Downstream; Dredging; Earth and Environmental Science; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental protection; Environmental risk; Estuaries; Geochemistry; Geologic Sediments - chemistry; Health risk assessment; Health risks; Heavy metals; Human influences; Humans; Land use; Metals; Metals - analysis; Metals - toxicity; New Jersey; Original Paper; Outfalls; Pollutants; Pollution; Pollution control; Pollution sources; Principal components analysis; Public Health; Quality control; Risk Assessment; River ecology; Rivers; Rivers - chemistry; Salinity; Seasonal variations; Seasonality; Sediment; Sediment pollution; Soil Science & Conservation; Spatio-Temporal Analysis; Surface runoff; Surface water; Terrestrial Pollution; Toxicants; Toxicology; Upstream; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity; Water pollution; Water Quality; New Jersey; Passaic River; New York; United States > US; Health risk assessment; Water quality index; Toxic metals; Remedial sediment dredging; Lower Passaic river
• ISSN: 0269-4042; 1573-2983; 1573-2983
• DOI: 10.1007/s10653-025-02579-6

Although the short-term effectiveness of remedial sediment dredging (RSD) on mitigating sediment contamination in the lower Passaic river (LPR), New Jersey, USA, was previously established in previous studies, dredging impacts on overlying water and consequential effects on aquatic life and human health were not investigated through model-based risk assessment methods. This study assessed the influence of RSD on metal pollution and toxicological risks upstream and downstream of River Mile-3.4, which was the subject of a 2012 RSD. Over the pre-, during-, and post-dredging periods, threats to aquatic life and humans were greater upstream at River Mile-4 (WQI avg. ≥ 50, PI avg. = 0.9) compared to downstream (River Miles-0 &1), where WQI avg. < 50 and PI avg. = 0.6 & 0.4, respectively. Monte Carlo probabilistic health risk assessment revealed significant probabilities of carcinogenic (≥ 98%) and non-carcinogenic health risks (2–50%) across all study areas and periods, with the highest risks recorded during and shortly after dredging, underscoring the associated toxicant exposure risks to humans from RSD. Significant ( p < 0.05; 0.01) inter-correlations between metals were recorded pre-, during, and post-dredging, with observed negative correlation indicating concentration changes between the dredging and post-dredging periods. Principal component analysis of measured parameters explained two potential categories of pollution sources—(i) in-situ recontamination from dredging residuals and remobilized metals, and (ii) ongoing anthropogenic contributions from combined sewer outfalls and surface runoff. Recent pollution trends in the study areas underscore the effect of seasonality and anthropogenic influences on toxic metal pollution in the LPR and highlight the need for a robust and consolidated protective remedial action comprising engineered and natural measures, policy and engineering control of ongoing pollution sources, and institutional controls to limit human exposure. Graphical abstract