The ca. 3 km long Gowanus Canal (Brooklyn, NY, USA) is an industrial waterway dating from 1869, on the Superfund list since 2010.  Applying an environmental forensics approach to the extensive data set contained in a recent U.S. EPA report*, we note systematic variations in PAH ring number distributions in the canal sediments.  While the bulk of the PAHs likely are legacy contaminants from former manufactured gas plants, there is also ongoing contamination by sewage and petroleum, the molecular markers of which we readily detected in a number of surface sediment samples using analytical pyrolysis. Proximate and ultimate analyses and Rock-Eval pyrolysis revealed the extraordinary organic richness of these sediments, suggesting that they should be considered a fuel resource for local electric power generation, as an alternative to their expensive disposal as hazardous waste.  Given the sediments' sewage component, they could even be considered, in part, a biofuel.* http://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/npl/gowanus/

Highly contaminated sediments from the Gowanus Canal Superfund site:  Beneficial use as a fuel resource

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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