Enclosure (1) TO COMDTINST 16478.12
Chapter Two
Sampling Design and Methodology
Site Investigation Studies
The results of the Morel-Mason study suggest that the presence of discarded
AtoN batteries have little environmental or biologial impact. However, the
conclusions were based on laboratory analysis of a small number of batteries
retrieved from only two locations: the Columbia River Gorge in Washington and
Tampa Bay in Florida. Because the results are critically important with far-
reaching implications for treatment of AtoN battery disposal sites, some
method of validating the results was needed.
The conclusion that mercury released from AtoN primary batteries into
surrounding sediments would leave small traces (hot spots) of elemental
mercury could be tested by field sampling. These traces would be difficult to
detect through a sampling program, but if found and analyzed, Morel and Mason
expected them to consist of elemental mercury. They expected that only a tiny
fraction of the mercury in batteries to be scavenged by local bacteria and
undergo a process that would convert it to a form (methyl mercury) that
accumulate in biota. Thus, little, if any, biological contamination would
result from battery disposal at AtoNs.
Several unanasered questions remained at the conclusion of Morel's and Mason's
work. Were enough batteries analyzed to provide an accurate, reliable basis
for the conclusions? Were there environmental factors that would negate them?
If so, in what kinds of environments were batteries least likely to react as
had in those analyzed by Morel and Mason (i.e. Tampa Bay)?
Each of these questions was addressed by the Volpe Center research program.
This chapter discusses the design of the field sampling effort.
The sampling program was designed to assess the effect of environmental
variability on the behavior of mercury released from primary batteries. For
instance, had the environments studied by Morel and Mason been freshwater
systems, with less current, the effects might have been different. Thus, the
environmental assessment program studied a wide range of environments for
unanticipated effects of battery disposal.
The assessment program had several additional purposes. Standardized
operational protocols for site mapping and documentation prior to battery
removal were developed. These protocols provided critical input into
assessing the reliability of the results and verifying that batteries had been
removed from the AtoN. A least-impact removal protocol was also developed.
Site closure
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