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PCBs in the Hudson

  • Chapter
The Hudson River Ecosystem

Part of the book series: Springer Series on Environmental Management ((SSEM))

Abstract

When former New York State Commissioner of Environmental Conservation Ogden Reid warned consumers on August 8, 1975 against eating fish from the Hudson River and Lake Ontario because of contamination with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), relatively few people were even aware of the existence of these compounds. Less than one decade later, PCB has become a household term with notoriety at par with DDT (1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane); moreover, a burst of scientific research has revealed PCB dispersal around the globe and throughout the biosphere. The discovery and scientific concern about such wide distribution of PCBs lent needed impetus for Congress to pass the Toxic Substances Control Act in 1976 (Letz, 1983). In the Hudson, the problem of PCBs went unrecognized for decades, since PCBs were considered non-reactive. That problem became compounded year after year until, finally, regulatory agencies were forced to recognize the severity of this toxic hazard.

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  1. Karin E. Limburg
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Limburg, K.E. (1986). PCBs in the Hudson. In: The Hudson River Ecosystem. Springer Series on Environmental Management. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4874-3_4

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