A Hudson River PCB Forum also was held on January 16, 2013 at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Swimming the Lordly Hudson, All 315 Miles of It. From osprey nests to toxic cleanups, John Lipscomb monitors it all from aboard his 36-foot wooden boat. Someone will say, Im going in, and another one will say, Do you need me to hold back? Imagine one motorist in Lower Manhattan saying to someone else, Would you like to go ahead of me?". Hikers cited for leaving chairs on Catskill summit for ecological and economic impacts of aquatic invasive species, You cant resist it, its electric: E-bikes are all the rage, 5 under-the-radar places to kayak in the Hudson Valley, Toxic hammerhead worms are the latest invasive species freaking people out, Trail mix: Hiking and dining in the Catskills, 5 things to know about the Empire State Trail, Sign up for our free weekly Outdoors newsletter. After a thorough review of these studies, we have concluded that the Hudson has suffered adverse impacts at historic levelsestimated at $11.4 billion, said Dagmar Schmidt Etkin, Ph.D., principal of Environmental Research Consulting and one of the report authors. Sometimes youre lucky enough to see them fishing. New museum reckons with Charlestons role in the slave trade. . I used to get some fancy cheese, olives and bread, and I would eat like Napoleon, but its changed hands. The Agency considers all PCB mixtures to be toxic. I like the possibility of a dock in Gowanus Bay because I like to take out our really small boat, a 12-foot aluminum boat, which I have on the stern of the big boat. They were getting blasted with chemicals all of a sudden, Wirgin said, and the early life stages are so sensitive. A polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) is an organic chlorine compound. Last June, researchers were shocked to discover some startling evidence of the rivers belated recovery. Coming into contact with such contaminants at high enough amounts may lead to an increased risk of cancer, heart disease, and . Well go back to the boat, and Ill feed him his dinner. Were calling on NRD Trustees to negotiate a settlement with GE that will provide for the restoration of the river. Entitled "Troubled Waters: Toxic Chemicals in the Hudson River," the 210page study asserts that hundreds of chemical compounds have been dumped into the Hudson by industry, of which 15 to 20 . (Interestingly, one famed pollutant PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, which made the Hudson the nations biggest Superfund site are less of a concern for swimmers, as they usually collect in mud and on the bottom of the river.). SUCCESS STORY Well get down to the mouth of Newtown Creek around 1. But its likely to be a boon for the Hudsons predatory fish that are less likely to have an adaptation to PCBsand are therefore gravely at risk from a diet of tomcod. We need to start respecting them.. (NOAA), PCB Contamination of the Hudson River Ecosystem, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Refugio State Beach Oil Spill Near Santa Barbara, California, Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA), Report Reveals Hudson River and Wildlife Have Suffered Decades of Extensive Chemical Contamination. I have a microwave. This is like an Exxon Valdez spill from nonpoint sources, said Capt. I may unsubscribe at any time. PCBs in the river sediment also affect fish and wildlife. Everyone was surprised, they said: wow youve got to be kidding me, that is crazy.. Botox to treat depression? Typically we may see a fish as big as three metres, so to see something a metre longer than that is quite something. Lake Tear of the Clouds, the source of the Hudson, seen below the peak of Mount Marcy. Its these enormous buildings built right on the edge of the water towering above you in a boat, and these giant bridges and ships and ferries running up and down. Figure 1. Stretches of the river were essentially dead, with the fish deprived of oxygen in the water. If they didnt have a mechanism to deal with this, its likely the population would have been extirpated.. Though we often think of evolution as occurring at a snail's pace, one fish species is highlighting just how quickly evolution occurs in the right circumstances. Eliminating threats to drinking water and additional costs to filter PCBs from supplies; Healing the rivers environment with substantive natural resource improvements. An osprey is like a flying leopard. Familiar as it may be, the Hudson is more than it seems. When hes not on the water, he lives in Tarrytown, N.Y., in his childhood home. As little as one-twentieth of an inch of rain can overload the system. The levels of contamination of both fish and sediment have remained troublingly high, admitted Basil Seggos, head of the New York DEC, in January. Her population modeling work includes models for plankton, benthic invertebrates, fisheries, birds and mammals. Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. You can kill rivers, he said. We want to make sure this comprehensive plan doesnt leave all that work on the table and start at zero again. Starting in 1947 and for approximately 30 years, manufacturing plants operated by General Electric Company (GE) discharged PCBs into the upper Hudson River, with additional releases of PCBs occurring as well. A significant new studythe first of its kindshows that the nutrients found in walnuts, seeds, and certain types of seafood can reduce inflammation and improve declining lung function. With the legislature, Hochul must put the Hudson River and the public health of residents over Holtecs shareholders. 1. Once a species invades, it can only be managed and contained, but in most cases the effects are permanent. The Hudson River as far north as Poughkeepsie was classified as a major flood. Revised: Jul 23, 2023 9:57am | Site Map | Contact Us | Accessibility | Disclaimer Its camp food, basically. And yesterday morning, we returned to Albany with allies and lawmakers to support the Save the Hudson bill. In April, Holtec announced plans to start unloading the waste into the Hudson in May, moving up its timeline by several months. Now that the pill is soon to be available over the counter in the U.S., experts weigh in on common questions and concerns about the medication. The discharge had a flow rate of . And so it gives hope to people who live on the Ganges, the people who live on the Yangtze, the Nile, the Seine or here in England on the River Thames. For more than two decades, John Lipscomb has been the eyes and ears of New Yorks waterways. The Hudson River flows from bucolic farms and forest to our nations great New York City. Environmentalists have raised concerns about the invasive round goby fish, spotted near Poughkeepsie, and the ecological impact it could have on the Hudson. I did a bit of backstroke and there was a turkey vulture just right above me, he said. Advocates and nuclear experts are concerned that Holtec cant decommission safely and has underestimated the costs. Canadian Firefighter Dies Amid Ongoing Wildfires But environmentalists say the round goby fish, which has been spotted as far south as Poughkeepsie and north in the Erie Canal, is an invasive. It turns out the fish sport a handy modification to a gene encoding a protein known to regulate the toxic effects of PCBs and related chemicals, called the aryl hydrocarbon receptor2, or AHR2. When taken with the cost needed to address the past and ongoing impacts on wildlife and communities along the Hudson River, GE could be liable for as much as $22 billion in total damages. It's a day-use park with plenty of family-friendly amenities, including a zoo, a merry-go-round, ice skating in . The small, round fish with frog-like eyes doesnt seem like much of a threat. Three days before that, Food & Water Watch rallied with allies in Albany, demanding Governor Hochuls support. Hochul has been silent on this issue for months, and its time for her to decisively support people over polluters. Fifty years ago, this kind of swim would have been much less imaginable, Mr. Shapley said, noting that we were dumping raw sewage from just about every community, everywhere.. Almost as soon as the Hudson started to enrich the US the river spawned one of the first environmental movements in the country, as middle-class New Yorkers decried the logging of its surrounding forest and blasting of the Palisades, a line of steep cliffs on the west side of the river, for construction materials. Dr. Greene has expertise in ecosystem service valuation, natural resource damage assessment (NRDA), recreation, water demand and management and public infrastructure investment. Although water quality in New York Harbor and throughout the Hudson River Estuary has improved significantly over the last few decades, many parts of the waterfront and its beaches are still unsafe for recreation after it rains. (A round goby is pictured here swimming in an aquarium at the National Park Building in Criewen, Germany.). Poachers have taken notice. The Hudson River separates New York City from New Jersey, and travels north for 315 miles, deep into upstate New York. For example, species of Asian carp that are moving through the Mississippi River are threatening the Great Lakes. We have the opportunity to stop this outrageous and dangerous proposal. Would you like that parking spot? Later that month, Holtec canceled its May plans, but still expects to dump its waste into the Hudson later this year. In a day when the worlds resources are dwindling, the standards for those responsible for its restoration should not be diminished or discounted, said Gil Hawkins, Past President, Environmental Director, Hudson River FishermansAssociation. Oil, heavy metals, dye, solvents, cleaning fluids and paint were all dumped into the Hudson by factories turning out cars and paper. The goals of the Clean Water Act are overdue by decades. "This is very, very rapid evolutionary change," said Isaac Wirgin, an environmental toxicologist at New York Universitys School of Medicine, and the study's lead investigator. DEC gets a birds-eye view to track spongy moth caterpillars. Somebody would dump slaughterhouse waste into a river, and they werent thinking about the guy who was swimming downstream or getting drinking water.. Ill rustle up whatever kind of ridiculous food I brought for myself. ENTERING OZ Ill head down the East River. The Reimagine the Canals Task Force submitted recommendations in 2020, urging the state to come up with a plan to combat invasive species. The amount of pollution released by this storm is staggering. Governor Hochul must support and sign this legislation and direct her state agencies to prevent any dumping from happening. A comprehensive Hudson River NRD settlement could hasten the rivers recovery from toxins, making it possible sooner, instead of decades from now, to safely eat the rivers fish. And this threat is just the latest after decades of corporate abuse of the Hudson. Aside from government action, if you catch a round goby while fishing, it is highly encouraged that you do not return it to the river and instead dispose of it ashore, dead. Its incredible to see the city from sea level. The Indian Point project is just the latest installment in the companys sketchy history. The Hudson is pristine in the Adirondacks but has suffered from polluters in downstate locations. New Yorkers: Tell Governor Hochul to stop Holtec from dumping radioactive waste in the Hudson River! This small population, Madsen said, suggests the rebound of a river that played a crucial role in the development of New York and, more broadly, the US. Federal and State trustees initiate the natural resource damage process by conducting a full assessment of the impacted area, with reports issued on the extent of injuries and recommend restoration actions. While that was an oil spill and not PCB contamination, the NRD process was comparable to that for the Hudson River and serves as a reference for valuing the level of compensation that would be fair and appropriate for the Hudson. As people right now are going out and fishing for striped bass, we really want to get their attention, said Shapley. Passing through Newtown Creek, a tributary of the East River between Brooklyn and Queens. 2023 Scenic Hudson, Inc. All rights reserved. Step up & do your part Gov. Riverkeeper also wants to alert the public to the presence of unprecedented storm-related pollution of the Hudson River. The largest looming threat may lie many miles south in Washington DC the Trump administration has vowed to scale back the scope of the Clean Water Act and loosen rules on toxins dumped into waterways by power plants. For more audio journalism and storytelling, download New York Times Audio, a new iOS app available for news subscribers. This story is part of a special National Geographic News series on global water issues. During its 315-mile journey from the Adirondacks to New York City, the Hudson River ranges from meek creek to mighty byway, flows past ghost towns, bombed-out factories and the state capital, and vacillates between stretches of pristine beauty and fetid intrusions of chemicals, bacteria and other toxic backwash. The exposure duration for fish ingestion was 12 years for the . . The presence of sturgeon in the Hudson river is a sign that the waterway is bouncing back from decades of pollution. Because the river often runs shallow in its upper stretches, Mr. Pugh will sometimes run on paths alongside it, where he is warned he could encounter all manner of terrestrial threats, including mosquitoes, disease-ridden ticks and venomous snakes. Were calling on her to sign the Save the Hudson bill into law immediately. Please pass the Save the Hudson bill (A.7208/S.6893) and do everything in your power to stop Holtec International from dumping over one million gallons of radioactive wastewater from the Indian Point spent fuel pools into the Hudson River. DOWN THE HUDSON I have about a four-hour run to Newtown Creek. To report fish kills, contact the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute at 1-800-636-0511. She led the development of natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) models established in the 1996 U.S. Federal regulations under CERCLA and the Oil Pollution Act, evaluating restoration strategies and bioeconomic valuations in marine and freshwater environments. "It shows how a river can be misused and then cared for and turn. His swim, sponsored by a European asset management company, is scheduled to end at Battery Park on Sept. 13, in time to celebrate the signing of the High Seas Treaty at the U.N. a historic agreement to protect ocean biodiversity a week later. The reason its four hours and not a one-and-a-quarter-hour run is because we dont go out deep. The Hudson river school of landscape painting also sprang up, with artists work warning of the desecration of wilderness. The fact that it exists at all in those nearby populations leads the researchers to believe the Hudson Bay tomcod had the mutation at least to a low degree before the PCB onslaught. A version of this article appears in print on, How an Environmental Watchdog of the Hudson River Spends Sundays, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/23/nyregion/riverkeeper-nyc.html. In addition, EPA recognizes neurological and developmental effects as additional toxic effects of PCBs. Scientists identified the genetic mutation that conferred the resistance, and found that the . The bottom-dwelling fish is native to the Black and Caspian Sea regions. I rig it up with my bunk mattress, Batus bed and my sleeping bag, and I climb in and he climbs in, and we snuggle and sleep. Types of pollution and other environmental impacts The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has listed various portions of the Hudson as having impaired water quality due to PCBs, cadmium, and other toxic compounds. You cant resist it, its electric: E-bikes are all the rage, 5 under-the-radar places to kayak in the Hudson Valley, Toxic hammerhead worms are the latest invasive species freaking people out, Trail mix: Hiking and dining in the Catskills, 5 things to know about the Empire State Trail. "A lot of people look at the river and . Oil sheens and debris have been observedeverything from 55-gallon drums and quart-sized containers of transmission fluid, to wrecked boats and swamped vehicles with leaking fuel tanks. JAN. 16, 2013 The Hudson River Natural Resource Trustees, including NOAA, released a report today outlining the magnitude of toxic chemical pollution in New York's Hudson River. How has Texas changed in 20 years? There, we delivered 30 local government resolutions and over 444,000 signatures opposing Holtecs dump. But Mr. Pugh claims an additional challenge, saying he will swim unassisted, something his team defines as only using the aforementioned Speedo, goggles and cap no gloves, flippers or mechanized assistance and will be continually on the move, making progress downstream every day. Engineers deepened the river, speeding the way for larger ships but wiping out much of the shallow-water ecosystems that underpinned its beauty. Its not done, of course. Lewis Pugh is training for his swim in Plymouth, England, where he lives. Hudson River Watershed Figure 2. Riverkeeper warns that the round goby wont be the last invasive species to use the Erie and Champlain canals to spread into new ecosystems. A once-vibrant commercial fishery closed overnight in 1976, and health officials continue to advise all people to severely restrict or avoid consumption of Hudson River fish, said Hayley Carlock, Scenic Hudson Director of Environmental Advocacy and Legal Affairs, This first-of-its-kind report puts an estimated $11.4 billion dollar value on the damage GEs PCBs have caused. Now, the bill is headed for Governor Hochuls desk for signature. MARINE MANNERS Im listening all the time to Channel 13, which is called bridge-to-bridge communications. The Hudson River is one of the largest Superfund sites in the country, and it touches some of the nations most densely populated areas. It is easier to swim to the media than to get the media to come to you, he said. Hes training in Plymouth, swimming alongside ferry boats and running six or so miles a day. The Hudson River is one of New Yorks natural wonders; a treasure that should be protected and preserved. In 36 years of swimming, Ive only done four river swims because on three of them, I got seriously, seriously sick, he said, recalling a terrible experience running into a patch of polluted water in the Thames. And while some communities, particularly near Albany and New York City, still feed sewage into the Hudson during rains, he said, most of the river is safe for swimming most of the time, so long as one keeps an eye out for boats, dangerous currents and unpredictable weather. GE dumped millions of pounds of toxic PCBs into the Hudson River between 1947 and 1977contaminating a 200-mile stretch of the Hudson from upriver factories to New York Harbor. The leviathan fish, most likely a female aged around 80 years old, is part of a population of about 450 adult Atlantic sturgeons in the prime spawning area of the Hudson, located near Hyde Park, Franklin Roosevelts former home, about 70 miles north of New York City.
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