An overview of the polychlorinated biphenyls problem in hudson river in the us

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Investigation of Local issues Hudson River Pollution: After the industrial revolution in the US, many industries started working across the bank of Hudson River, industries heavily depend upon water power, for transportation and power generation purpose.

So the Hudson valley becomes the ideal place for any type of industry. Initially, there were no proper laws and setups to dump the industrial wastages, so mainly the industrial wastes were drained into the river.

Polychlorinated biphenyl - Wikipedia

Due to industrial waste the quantity of Polychlorinated Biphenyls PCBsMercury, Cadmium and other heavy metals in the river increased significantly Ayres and Rod Polychlorinated Biphenyls Polychlorinated Biphenyls are a group of man-made chemicals and they are commonly used in electric equipment, paint, surface coating, flame retardant, and adhesives.

PCBs can cause cancer, and they are hazardous for the immune system, reproductive system, and nervous system. The main reason of PCBs in Hudson River was the unprocessed waste of General Electric, which was drained into the river from to PCBs are now found in sediments, water, fishes and wildlife all across the Hudson River.

The PCBs level in fishes was so high that even Government had to ban the fisheries in the river. Cadmium Cadmium is a toxic heavy metal and commonly used in electroplating, construction, agriculture and battery manufacturing industries.

What are PCBS? How did PCBs Get in the Hudson River?

Acute exposure of Cadmium may cause bioaccumulation, obstructive lung diseases, bone defects Osteomalacia, Osteoporosis and high blood pressure. Bioaccumulation means the high quantity of Cadmium or other chemicals in a biological organism for a time as its concentration compared in the environment.

One it absorbed by any organisms it remains there for many years Friberg, Piscator et al. According to the study of Klerks in aboutgallons per day was drained into the river Williams, Simpson et al. Mercury Mercury enters into the environment when the mercury containing items are dumped in the trash.

High exposure of mercury can cause defects in the nervous system, especially in unborn babies. Most of industries across the Hudson River drained their unprocessed waste water in the river, that water also contained a large quantity of Mercury.

According to a study report a journal, named as Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry stated that mercury is main reason of declining population of fishes in last three decades GibbsHeyes, Miller et al.

When any industry runs, it produces wastes, and this waste will have hazardous materials which pollute the environment. We cannot shut down industries because our basic needs are closely connected with it.

So the only feasible option is that we should reduce the quantity of waste, and processed that waste to minimize the harmful effect on the mother-nature and ecosystem. For reduction of pollution, the first step to classify pollutants and find their sources, try to minimize the usage by using alternatives of that chemicals which produce pollutants.

For example cadmium is heavy metal and used in batteries, and it is a pollutant, to avoiding this pollution we should use alternatives chemicals like lithium ion to produce the battery, this step will minimize the hazardous waste. After that all the waste should be properly processed, hazardous material should be separated nonhazardous waste and properly handled.

If possible it should be recycled. In last step toxicants and hazardous materials should be degraded into nontoxic chemicals. This is a simple way to minimize the pollution rate MontgomeryRistich, Crandall et al.

In Hudson River there are three main type of pollutants: PCBs, Cadmium and Mercury. PCBs can be degraded by a natural process, but the problem is that we cannot degrade Cadmium. Cadmium is heavy metal and it settled down in the water under the gravity. The only option left is to dredge the sediments from the surface of the river.

After that these sediments send for de-watering and then it processed for shipping. It is costly but a single way to tackle down this issue. In foundry cove, this process was utilized and it gives satisfactory results Bopp and SimpsonSecor, Rooker et al.

This process can be adopted in future to clean the other part of the river. Figure 1 indicate how the cadmium concentration is decreased from to The cleaning process is started frombut the concentration rate of heavy metal already decreasing fromone of the possible reason of this decreasing concentration was the transportation of metal out of cove into the main river, and this reason increase the possibility that still a large quantity of metal in the river.

Pollution always a global issue, only a single industry can destroy the whole ecosystem of the river. This study defines the history of pollution in Hudson River and how it is controlled. Due to the strict regulations and cleaning process have made this river clean enough for both human and fishes and now Hudson River is cleaner and more protected than the last century.

Pollution can be decreased by strict regulations and public awareness.For a year period, ending in the late ’s, an estimated million pounds of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were discharged into the Hudson River from two General Electric (GE) capacitor manufacturing plants located in the towns of Fort Edward and Hudson Falls, New York.

Pollution of the Hudson River | Revolvy

This article is intended to promote the further development of this process by examining the effects of exposures to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on fish populations inhabiting the Hudson River, New York, USA, a system in which data collected in the course of approximately 30 y are available concerning both concentrations of PCBs in.

Actualización por temas. Los contaminantes ambientales bifenilos policlorinados (PCB) y sus efectos sobre el Sistema Nervioso y la salud. The polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBS) environmental pollutants and their effects on .

A polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) Polychlorinated biphenyls were once widely deployed as dielectric and coolant fluids in electrical apparatus, Pollution of the Hudson River is largely due to dumping of PCBs by General Electric from to Between and , General Electric polluted the Hudson River by dispensing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), causing a range of harmful effects to wildlife and people who eat fish from the river or drink the water.

In response to this contamination, activists protested in various ways; for. The purpose of the website is to provide information regarding the Superfund program for communities, cleanup professionals, and concerned citizens.