Long considered one of the most polluted waterways in the US, the Passaic has undergone several recent studies to lay the groundwork for future clean-ups, reports North Jersey.
Environmental officials already know that contaminants have harmed fish in a 17-mile stretch from Newark Bay to Dundee Dam in Garfield, which has been a federal Superfund site since 1984. New Jersey has banned consumption of fish and crabs, from the Passaic for years and a 2002 state study found that eating just one crab from the river could raise a person’s cancer risk for an entire lifetime.
Officials at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hope this new study will give them a better understanding of just how damaged the wildlife is in and around the river.
“In the end, it will more accurately quantify just how much contamination there is among fish and other marine life,” said David Kluesner, a spokesman for the EPA, which is overseeing the study.
Scientists to Test Passaic River Fish For Toxins
NEW JERSEY, US - Scientists are capturing and dissecting fish, crabs and eels from the lower Passaic River this month in an effort to determine how they have been affected by cancer-causing dioxin, PCBs and other toxic chemicals.
