Composite Training Unit Exercises and Joint Task ... - Govsupport.us

COMPTUEX/JTFEX EA/OEA Final Chapter 4not expected to cause any significant long-term impact on water quality because a majority of the toxiccomponents would evaporate within several hours to days and/or be degraded by biogenic organisms(e.g., bacteria, phytoplankton, zooplankton).The resulting expended materials and/or discharges from operations may also affect the physical andchemical properties of benthic habitats and the quality of surrounding marine waters. Hazardousconstituents can be released from sonobuoys, targets, torpedoes, missiles, and underwater explosions(discussed below). Impacts from hazardous materials, primarily batteries, may affect water or sedimentquality in the vicinity of the materials. The release of metal ions (e.g., Pb +2 , Cu +2 , and Ag + ) duringoperation of the seawater batteries or as a result of corrosion of sonobuoy or target components representsa source of potential environmental degradation for marine invertebrates. In general, the toxicologicalimpact of exposure to high concentrations of heavy metals can result in either immediate mortality ofexposed organisms (acute effect) or accumulation of heavy metal residues by these same species. Benthiccommunities exposed to high concentrations of heavy metals (specifically copper and zinc) arecharacterized by reduced species richness (number of species), reduced abundance (number oforganisms), and a shift in community composition from sensitive to more tolerant taxa.Sonobuoys are expendable devices used for the detection of underwater acoustic sources and forconducting vertical water column temperature measurements. The primary source of contaminants ineach sonobuoy is the seawater battery; these batteries have a maximum operational life of 8 hours, afterwhich the chemical constituents in the battery are consumed. Long-term releases of lead and other metalfrom the remaining sonobuoy components would be substantially slower than the release during seawaterbattery operation. Lead has the potential to accumulate in bottom sediments, but the potentialconcentrations would be well below sediment quality criteria based on thresholds for negative biologicaleffects. By far the greatest amount of material would likely to be deposited in a relatively inert form, asthe lead ballast weights would become encrusted with lead oxide and other salts and would be covered bythe bottom sediments. Sonobuoy emissions are not anticipated to accumulate or result in additive effectson water or sediment quality as would occur within an enclosed body of water since the constituents ofsonobuoys would be widely dispersed in space and time throughout training areas. In addition, dispersionof released metals and other chemical constituents due to currents near the ocean floor would helpminimize any long-term degradation of water and sediment quality. As a result, substantial long-termdegradation of marine water or sediment quality would not likely occur as a result of sonobuoyoperations.Most air targets contain jet fuel, oils, hydraulic fluid, batteries, and explosive cartridges as part of theiroperating systems. Following a training operation, targets are generally flown (using remote control) to apre-determined recovery point. Fuel is shut off by an electronic signal, the engine stops, and the targetdescends. A parachute is activated and the target ascends to ocean surface where it is retrieved by rangepersonnel using helicopters or range support boats. However, some targets are physically hit by missiles,and these targets fall into the ocean, and could potentially result in temporary, localized adverse impactson water quality. Most of the hazardous constituents of concern (i.e., fuel, oil) are less dense thanseawater and would remain near the surface and therefore would not affect sediment quality. Oceancurrents at the surface and within the water column would also rapidly dilute any metal ions or otherchemical constituents released by the target. Sheens (e.g., oil or fuel) produced from these activities havea less than significant long-term effect on water quality because a majority of the toxic components (e.g.,aromatics) would evaporate within several hours to days or be degraded by biogenic organisms. Thisprocess may occur at a faster rate depending on sea conditions (e.g., wind and waves).February 2007 4-8