Dredged Material Disposal

Dredged material disposal is the permitted placement of sediment excavated from navigation channels, berths, and harbors at designated sea sites, the largest category of material dumped at sea worldwide. It is regulated under the London Convention 1972 and its 1996 Protocol, where dredged material appears on the Annex 1 reverse list of substances that may be considered for dumping subject to permit. Assessment follows the Protocol’s Annex 2: a waste-prevention audit, evaluation of alternatives, characterization of contaminants, and disposal-site monitoring. Contaminated dredged spoil carrying heavy metals, PAHs, or TBT requires confined or upland disposal. Turbidity plumes and benthic smothering are the principal local impacts.