Misfit Between Sediment Toxicity and Chemistry

In the United States, the EPA EMAP-Estuaries Program and the NOAA Bioeffects Surveys provide large data sets with which to test proposed relationships between sediment chemistry and toxicity. The conclusion is that no chemical measurement reliably predicts sediment toxicity. These findings challenge the use of chemical data to imply biological hazard and the way toxicity data are used in sediment management.