• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.466-476
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• 2016

Dredging is inevitably necessary for the management of water infrastructure such as waterways and polluted bottom sediment. Dredged material management options may be offshore dumping, wetland creation, beach nourishment and various other engineering uses depending on the given circumstances at the time of dredging. Among those options, wetland creation and beach nourishment are the preferred ones in Korea considering significant loss of wetland and beach erosion due to various development projects along the coastal region. In order to use dredged material beneficially, however, dredged material needs to be assessed its suitability with respect to its engineering purpose and environmental criteria. In this paper, we demonstrate that environmental risk of dredged material to be introduced into the marine environment can be easily assessed using biomarkers with relative low cost. Biomarkers can also compliment pollutant contents analysis that may not be specific to their impact on biological response. Biomarker information may be used to assist decision making process in selecting suitable treatment or beneficial use options for dredged materials.