Polluted Waters Stain D.C.'s Shining Vision

[donsu]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/08/AR2007010801738.html?nav=rss_email/components


Rejuvenation Near the Anacostia May Leave One Component Behind: The River Itself

The Anacostia River, planned as the scenic centerpiece of massive redevelopment in the District, remains heavily polluted by sewage, trash and toxic chemicals, environmentalists say -- and it might be years before the river's health catches up with its new cachet.

In the city's plans, the Anacostia will soon be surrounded by a necklace of new stadiums, office buildings, condominiums and parks. A river that has come to symbolize neglect, both of its water and of the neighborhoods near its banks, will become a new hub of urban life.


But that bright vision is hard to square with the Anacostia of the present. Its channels are choked with mud and floating debris. Its catfish have tumors on their livers and lips. And, dozens of times a year, it actually stinks, from human waste dumped out by the District's sewer system.

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The trash: An estimated 20,000 tons come downstream every year. There are coffee cups, soft drink bottles -- an astounding number of basketballs, river aficionados say -- plus tree trunks and other more dangerous debris.

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And the chemicals: They wash off roads and parking lots and include oil and grease and exhaust byproducts called PAHs. The high concentration of PAHs, known to cause cancer, was cited when a survey found that more than half of the river's brown bullhead catfish had tumors. It was equal to the highest tumor levels ever seen in a U.S. river.

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That means the river doesn't flush out pollution quickly. It remembers insults. One of the biggest came from Washington Navy Yard, where runoff from ship maintenance and munitions-building washed down hazardous metals and other chemicals.

The Navy Yard is an Environmental Protection Agency Superfund cleanup site, though some of the most toxic soil and groundwater has been removed or cleaned. One current research project has put down layers of sand and absorbent materials a foot thick on the river bottom there, hoping to bury the remaining pollutants.
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america the beautiful

[AspenRose]

1. So THAT's why DC smelled so bad last time I was there.

Combined with the humidity and heat, it was NOT a pleasant experience. I thought the smell was just in my head. x(

This is just awful.