03-26-2023, 05:58 PM
JoeH wrote:
[quote=RgrF]
other ocean bottom disturbances would presumably mean any attempts to siphon, dredge or otherwise remove the contaminant.
Yep! Any attempt to remove the contaminated sediment would have to take that into account and take measures to minimize further spreading.
I am reminded of the arguments GE made against cleanup of the PCBs they contaminated both the Hudson and Housatonic RIvers from their manufacturing operations in the region. They argued with the EPA that the riverbed locations contaminated with PCBs should be left alone, the PCBs would remain in the sediment. The counterargument that finally was followed was that Spring floods and other changes in water flow would disturb the sediments anyways, so better to remove as much as feasible. Environmentally PCBs are not as persistent as DDT, so breakdown of the remaining PCB contamination will take much less time.
FYI: The Hudson has been at the top of the EPA's "most contaminated" list since the 1980s.
Dredging of the Hudson was completed in 2016, but that's only the second phase of cleanup (which took about 15 years) on the upper portion of the river above Albany/Troy. The easiest part.
The EPA renewed the superfund cleanup agreement with GE in 2022 for the as-yet untouched contaminated floodplains and lower river-basins down to New York Harbor, and have no firm plans about the timing or scope as GE has managed to prevent the EPA from accurately measuring the contamination in those regions or submitting final reports/plans. Those regions are expected to be contaminated far worse than the upper-river, and since PCBs are persistent throughout the food-chain, they are NOT going away.
The initial superfund agreement was signed in 2002. GE has pledged to start testing the sediments in those areas some time in 2023.
When/if cleanup of the lower half of the Hudson begins (which isn't expected to start until the 2030s), it's likely to take another two decades or more to make significant progress.
This is with a company that's ostensibly cooperating with the cleanup.
That DDT will probably be around longer than the human race.