Chemical and textural characteristics of sediments at an EPA reference site for dredged material on the continental slope SW of the Farallon Islands

A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reference site for dredged material has been established on the Continental Slope off San Francisco in water depths of 800-1500 m. This site, 35 km southwest of the Farallon Islands, serves as a reference for sediment testing in support of dredging and disposal at the San Francisco Deep Ocean Disposal Site (SF-DODS). An estimated 300 million cubic yards of dredged material from San Francisco Bay are expected to be discharged at this site during the next 50 years. Information from the reference site provides an additional baseline for monitoring environmental changes at the SF-DODS. This study provides sediment data on a suite of heavy metals and organic compounds which make up the EPA list of "chemicals of concern" because of their potential toxicity to marine organisms.