Hudson River Research Paper
However, topics much more important such as pollution in the Hudson River barely make the headlines of newspapers or news broadcasts. One of the most concerning pollutant in the Hudson River is polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). According to the US Environmental Protection Agency :
PCBs are a group of man-made organic chemicals consisting of carbon, hydrogen and chlorine atoms. The number of chlorine atoms and their location in a PCB molecule determine many of its physical and chemical properties. PCBs have no known taste or smell, and range in consistency from an oil to a waxy solid. PCBs belong to a broad family of man-made organic chemicals known as chlorinated hydrocarbons. PCBs were domestically manufactured from 1929 until manufacturing …show more content…
These different combinations are called congeners, each having a specific number of chlorine atoms located at specific positions (PCBs Polychlorinated biphenyls, n.d.).
PCBs soluble in water but are soluble in fats. This solubility in fat explains why PCBs can build up in animal fat and along the food chain [.] The number and position of chlorine atoms in the PCB molecule determines the degree of solubility (PCBs Polychlorinated biphenyls, n.d.). Before releasing themselves into water, PCB attach themselves to sediments. This allows PCB to remain buried until eventually releasing into water.
The commercial production of PCBs began in 1929 (PCBs Polychlorinated biphenyls, n.d.). For over 30 years prior to 1977 the General Electric Company (GE) dumped wastewater into the Hudson RIver, this water contained PCBs (Connolly, Zahakos, Benaman, Ziegler, Rhea, Russell, 2000). Two General Electric facilities were estimated to have released up to 1,300,000 pounds of PCB into the Hudson River in the years between 1940 and 1977 (PCB CONTAMINATION OF THE HUDSON RIVER ECOSYSTEM COMPILATION OF CONTAMINATION DATA THROUGH 2008,
PCBs are a group of man-made organic chemicals consisting of carbon, hydrogen and chlorine atoms. The number of chlorine atoms and their location in a PCB molecule determine many of its physical and chemical properties. PCBs have no known taste or smell, and range in consistency from an oil to a waxy solid. PCBs belong to a broad family of man-made organic chemicals known as chlorinated hydrocarbons. PCBs were domestically manufactured from 1929 until manufacturing …show more content…
These different combinations are called congeners, each having a specific number of chlorine atoms located at specific positions (PCBs Polychlorinated biphenyls, n.d.).
PCBs soluble in water but are soluble in fats. This solubility in fat explains why PCBs can build up in animal fat and along the food chain [.] The number and position of chlorine atoms in the PCB molecule determines the degree of solubility (PCBs Polychlorinated biphenyls, n.d.). Before releasing themselves into water, PCB attach themselves to sediments. This allows PCB to remain buried until eventually releasing into water.
The commercial production of PCBs began in 1929 (PCBs Polychlorinated biphenyls, n.d.). For over 30 years prior to 1977 the General Electric Company (GE) dumped wastewater into the Hudson RIver, this water contained PCBs (Connolly, Zahakos, Benaman, Ziegler, Rhea, Russell, 2000). Two General Electric facilities were estimated to have released up to 1,300,000 pounds of PCB into the Hudson River in the years between 1940 and 1977 (PCB CONTAMINATION OF THE HUDSON RIVER ECOSYSTEM COMPILATION OF CONTAMINATION DATA THROUGH 2008,