H.2.1 Materials

H.2.1 Materials

Apparatus and equipment.

a. Stainless steel electric mixer

b. Magnetic stir plate

c. Combustion oven (550 οC capability)

d. 500-mL polycarbonate centrifuge bottles

Mechanical horizontal shaker

Reagents.

a. Diethylenetriamine-pentaacetic acid

b. Calcium chloride

c. Triethanolamine

d. Hydrochloric acid

e. Sodium hydroxide

H.2.2 Sediment preparation

Sediment collected for testing should be consolidated and thoroughly mixed

with a high shear mixer to ensure homogeneity. Samples are collected after

mixing for the determination of sediment physical and chemical characteristics.

The mixed sediment should be stored at 4 οC until needed. Any reference or

background sediment or soils should be handled in the same manner as the

dredged material. Half the mixed sediment is left saturated and anaerobic for

use wetland tests. For terrestrial tests, the other half of the mixed sediment

should be placed in an aluminum drying pan of appropriate size to allow for no

greater than a 1-in. depth of sediment in the bottom of the pan. The sediment is

turned twice daily with a polyethylene shovel to facilitate drying and any debris

is removed. After the material is air-dried to less than 5 percent moisture on a

dry weight basis, it is ground to pass a 2-mm screen and then remixed. The

mixed material is then ready for use in the terrestrial testing portions in the

following sections.

H.2.3 Sediment characterization

Sediment pH. Ten grams (10 g) (oven-dried weight [ODW] to nearest

0.001 g) of original wet, dried, and dried + peroxide sediment are weighed into

Appendix H Plant Bioaccumulation Procedures