Posted on October 13, 2020
By Andy Long
The Navy plans to do a second round of dredging at a 1.2-acre site off the north end of Gould Island after a previous effort failed to sufficiently mitigate toxins in the sediment. Testing after the dredging in 2017 showed unacceptable levels of toxins, which could enter the food chain through shellfish.
A review of earlier and upcoming dredging procedures was provided to the Naval Station Newport Restoration Advisory Board at its Sept. 16 meeting.
The project is part of the Navy’s mitigation of environmental damage throughout the old base. Naval Station Newport played a significant role during the two world wars and the Cold War in maintaining control of the North Atlantic. On Gould Island, the Navy tested torpedoes, and dangerous chemicals and materials migrated into the environment. Also, electrical transformers shed PCBs throughout the site.
In 2017, after the contaminated onshore soil was removed, the first dredging of sediment was done. The contractor, Tetra-Tech, installed an underwater curtain around the site to control turbidity, creating what is called a moon pool. Then, a barge with a clamshell bucket removed the sediment within the screened-off 1.2-acre site. (Read More)
Source: newportnow
