Multistakeholder groups have been formed to look at alternate uses of dredged material. Recent uses of dredged materials have included combining the dredged material with other materials to create a parking lot for a new mall in Elizabeth, NJ, and the possibility of using additional abandoned mines in Pennsylvania as the repository of hundreds of millions of tons of dredged mud. E ffects of dredging Dredging and the disposal of dredged material temporarily increases turbidity, influences bottom-feeding communities at and near disposal sites, and may affect the behavior and physiology of fish and other organisms. It may also redistribute toxic pollutants and increase their availability to aquatic organisms. In many areas where dredging takes place, hotly contested debates have surfaced concerning the effect of dredged material disposal on waterways and the redistribution and release of toxic contaminants in dredged sediment.
People have strong opinions on dredging.
Many heated arguments have occurred over this issue. People are either for dredging or against it. Access to research tools such as the Internet and newspapers. GE has developed a website that gives their reasons for being against dredging. This site also contains information on PCBs and the effects on health.