For years, Monsanto suppressed internal findings about their toxicity. But after four years, the cleanup project has removed less than half an ounce of PCBs, a far cry from the almost 11 pounds the company discharged into the river in 2002. Part of our work at Spokane Riverkeeper is to help you learn about the toxic areas on our waterways — where they are, how they got that way, and what you need to know. PCBs are still inadvertently produced, and cleaning them up forces regulators and polluters to grapple with knotty environmental paradoxes. Along the way, toxics pile up, contaminating fish in the river. SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash … In response, the Washington Department of Health now recommends that residents consume no more than one fish in any given month from many sections of the Spokane River, and none at all in other stretches. If those petrochemicals are being digested, “then we know bioremediation is occurring,” Heimbigner explained. But even those major investments aren’t likely to be enough. The city alone is spending $340 million on upgrades to stormwater and sewer treatment systems designed to keep more PCBs and other toxins out of the river. Spokane River For thousands of years, the river supported a thriving ecosystem of salmon and was a sacred gathering place for the Spokane Tribe. While environmental advocates and the Spokane Tribe continue to pursue strict pollution regulations, much of the momentum on PCB cleanup has come from working together and trying to solve problems outside the courtroom. Spokane sues Monsanto over Spokane River contamination The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Spokane, alleges that the company sold chemicals for decades. According to the judge's order, Spokane faces significant costs to sufficiently reduce the level of PCBs it discharged into the river. When the truth was revealed in the 1970s, the federal government outlawed the production of PCBs. Lake Spokane (Long Lake): Limit Largescale Sucker and Brown Trout to 1 meal per month. North Central High School students’ poster describes their scientific process. Spokane is the first place in the state to navigate the permitting process under the tighter restrictions. Pregnant women and young children are most at risk from the chemicals, which cause birth defects and developmental disabilities in populations where contaminated fish are eaten regularly. And once those other pollutants are removed, the microorganisms will be left to chew on the PCBs. Laden with chemicals that can cause cancer and developmental disabilities, the subsurface water flows into the Spokane River before it winds through the city and then across the Spokane Indian Reservation. For conservationists in Spokane concerned about healthy fish and safe recreation on the river, that work is a contradiction. The Spokane River is listed on the 303(d) List as water quality impaired for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). And while Inland Empire’s decision to cut back on recycled material will lower PCB levels in the river, it only means those toxic chemicals will become someone else’s problem. Kaiser Aluminum is testing a system that uses ultraviolet light and hydrogen peroxide to destroy PCB contamination in water. Spokane River suffers from low oxygen and high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)and metals, which are bad for fish and other aquatic animals. The Washington city of Spokane is suing international agrochemical giant Monsanto over PCB contamination in the Spokane River. For the latest updates, consult The City of Spokane Combined Sewer Overflow Monitoring Site and The Department of Ecology's Water Quality Atlas. Current testing shows about 55% of PCBs enter the river through the City of Spokane combined sewer overflow and storm water system, 25% at the Idaho border, 15% through industrial and wastewater treatment discharges, and 5% from the Little Spokane River. That is a far cry from the traditional diet of the Spokane Tribe, whose members once ate up to two pounds a day. And if Inland Empire uses paper with those dyes on it, it’s responsible for the PCB waste from them. Filed in a US District Court in Spokane, Washington, the lawsuit holds Monsanto accountable for pollutants flowing into the 111 miles (179 km) long Spokane River that stretches from northern Idaho to eastern Washington. Dischargers say the long history of PCB use in the region and the more lax standards for PCBs in manufactured products make it unrealistic to meet the new pollution standards. She said Spokane will spend $300 million in the next few years to keep PCBs and other pollutants from further contaminating the river. 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