Page 23 - Port of Baltimore - May/June 2017

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“The results showed that using RCA as a base for oyster reefs did not adversely affect either oyster growth or the surrounding environment,” Clark said. “None of the materials leached at a rate that exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency’s drinking water standards, and the RCA did not raise the pH above
the threshold for introduction into Maryland waters.”
The next phase of tests involved the actual construction of RCA- based reefs in two locations in the bay. Researchers also created a tank, divided in half with washboards, to simulate the deck of an oyster boat, and recruited watermen to tong
for oysters. Half of the tank had a traditional oyster shell reef, while
the other half had the RCA reef. The watermen discovered that the RCA reef was more difficult to tong because it weighs more than oyster shells. They suggested that it could be used with a veneer of oyster shells or in areas not used for harvesting oysters.
Because accidental oil and gas spills occur on roads, the final phase, completed late in 2016, evaluated the RCA for petroleum byproducts and provided evaluation methodologies.
“As alternative materials are introduced in marine environments, the State Highway Administration needs a testing protocol to assess their potential impacts,” said Dong Hee Kang, one of the researchers.
“In all of the samples, organic chemical concentrations were below the detection limit. We did detect hydrocarbons from two samples, but the detected concentrations were 100 times lower than the water quality standard of Maryland. It’s safe to say that RCA is not a cause for concern for hydrocarbon components leaching when used as a base for oyster reefs.”
One of the next steps will be to develop a process to issue permits for such artificial reefs. Maryland does not have any established criteria for artificial reef materials. 􏰀
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