Contamination Found in Seabirds Near Georgia Superfund Site

[Cara J]

A new study by researchers in Georgia found that contaminants from a Superfund site near Brunswick have spread much farther than previously thought. The study, published recently in Environmental Science: Processes and Impacts, found a toxin known as Aroclor 1268 in six nesting populations of least terns (Sternula antillarum) at various locations along the Georgia coast. Aroclor 1268 is composed of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a chemical used on site at the 550-acre Linden Chemical and Plastics (LCP) facility until 1994. Since then, the plant has been closed and was designated as a Superfund site due to contamination by PCBs, mercury and other chemicals. As a Superfund site under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, the EPA began initial cleanup efforts almost 20 years ago and has the power to approve or overrule future cleanup efforts by onsite parties. The plant was the only user of the chemical in the entire southeast, co-author Gary Mills said in a University of Georgia press release. “We wanted to look at the dispersal of Aroclor 1268… and specifically how this exposure to contaminants might be affecting the least terns nesting there,” said Gabrielle Robinson, lead author of the study, and [...]

 

Read more: http://wildlife.org/contamination-found-in-seabirds-near-georgia-superfund-site/