POLLUTANT LEVELS IN NEW YORK BAY

or...have you seen

luca brazzi?

Jonathan Kelly

Freshman Science Project

Science (H2), Mr. Angus, 2007-2008

BACKGROUND

I live in Bay Ridge, near New York Bay. I often travel down the shore, where I see many people fishing. I have often wondered if the fish they caught were safe to eat.

HYPOTHESIS

My original hypothesis was that the water was filthy, and that any fish caught there were poisonous, at best.

New York Harbor

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

STEP ONE Pick three convenient shore-side locations in my area.

•LOCATION A: The 69th St. Pier just South of the Owls Head Waste Treatment Plant in the UPPER BAY.•LOCATION B: Shore Promenade just under the Verrazano Bridge at 101st Street, THE NARROWS.•LOCATION C: The very end of the Promenade at the foot of Bay Parkway in the LOWER BAY.

STEP TWO Collect labelled samples at all locations. Bring them home. Take my measurements. Record the results.

STEP THREE Repeat Step Two.

Collecting water-samples by Location B

I THINK IT'S STUCK!!!

FROM PRISTINE TO POLLUTEDHarpers Weekly, June 30, 1883

An Oil Spill…in Brooklyn ??!!!The Largest Spill in US History, Greenpoint Brooklyn, 17-30M Gallons

I wonder what’s in there NOW!Sewer Construction in Queens, 1938

What happens to all that…stuff?A typical NYC Waste Treatment Plant

A picture of the real thingOwls Head WPCP, Bay Ridge…Location A at top/right

MEASUREMENTWater Test Kit

Each kit tests for: Harmful Bacteria Lead

Pesticides Nitrates

Nitrites pH Level

Hardness Chlorine level

DATA TABLE, both collections

0.00 off-scale0.00 off-scale0.00 0.00Chlorine EPA- 4ppm

425 0.00 425 50425 off-scale Hardness EPA-50ppm

8.50 6.508.50 6.508.50 6.50PH level EPA- 8.50

0.00 0.000.15 0.150.15 0.15Nitrites EPA-1ppm

0.50 0.500.50 0.502.00 0.50 Nitrates EPA-10ppm

0.00 0.000.00 0.000.00 0.00Pesticides EPA- 4ppb

0.00 0.000.00 0.000.00 0.00Lead EPA- 15ppb

NONE PRESENTNONE NONEPRESENT NONEBacteria EPA-none

Location C-lower bay1st Round - 2nd Round

Location B – narrows1st Round - 2nd Round

Location A – upper Bay1st Round - 2nd Round

Substance Tested for

Graphing the 1st CollectionDATA COLLECTION ROUND 1

10/28/07

Location A B C A B C A B C A B C A B C A B C A B C A B C

500.00 400.00300.00 200.00100.00 50.00 50ppm

40.00 30.00 20.00 15.00 15ppb

10.00 10ppm

9.00 8.00 8.5

7.00 P N N6.00 O E E5.00 S G G4.00 I A A 4ppb 4ppm

3.00 T T T2.00 I I I1.00 V V V 1ppm

0.00 E E E 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.5 0.5 0.15 0.15 0 8.5 8.5 8.5 425 425 425 0 0 0

Bacteria Lead Pesticide Nitrates Nitrites pH Level hardness Chlorine

red LocA Notes: 1. Each column is split into 3 segments, one for each locationgreen LocB 2. At the bottom of each column is the value I measured for that substance.

yellow LocC 3. The EPA allowable level is positioned in bold for each column4. The Bacterial test shows only POSITIVE or NEGATIVE for bacterial presence

Graphing the 2nd CollectionDATA COLLECTION ROUND 2(with measurements added for location A, originally corrupt)

11/11/07

Location A B C A B C A B C A B C A B C A B C A B C A B C

500.00 400.00300.00 200.00100.00 50.00 50ppm40.00 30.00 20.00 15.00 15ppb10.00 10ppm9.00 8.00 8.5

7.00 N N P6.00 E E O 6.5 6.5 6.5

5.00 G G S4.00 A A I 4ppb 4ppm

3.00 T T T2.00 I I I1.00 V V V 1ppm

0.00 E E E 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.15 0.15 0 6.6 6.5 off scl 0.5 0.0 0 off scale

Bacteria Lead Pesticide Nitrates Nitrites pH Level hardness Chlorine

red LocA Notes: 1. Each column is split into 3 segments, one for each locationgreen LocB 2. At the bottom of each column is the value I measured for that substance.

yellow LocC 3. The EPA allowable level is positioned in bold for each column4. The Bacterial test shows only POSITIVE or NEGATIVE for bacterial presence

CONCLUSIONS

My conclusions, based on my research and measurements, are:

The water quality in New York Bay has greatly improved, but not enough for safe consumption.

Existing facilities are incapable of handling current waste levels.

The harbor water contains harmful bacteria and minerals.

DON'T EAT THOSE FISH!!!

REFERENCES

New York Magazine (2007)Harper Weekly Magazine (1883)Newtown Creek Oil Spill Study (2007)Constitutional Law Quarterly 267-335The Sewer System (Markowitz 2003)Gotham Gazette (2003)The New York Times (various articles)NYC EPA (official publication)US Army Corps of Engineers-NY DistrictWikipedia (various articles)

THE END