Dave I would agree with you 100 per cent if the PCBs were being tested and found in the water. But the public water suppliers say such is not the case which now makes me wonder, thank you very much.

I believe the PBFC issued their consumption advisory over actual testing of the fish they have posted.

https://cumulis.epa.gov/s....topics&id=0300811

I found this site to be interesting for more info on the pcbs

Kokanee Killer
read the article   10x the norm is quite alarming   especially in the stretch mentioned     has to been a long term polluting source somewhere in that stretch  pcbs settle in the sediment on bottom and once in ..... there   its pretty much permanent,,,,,,,,,,,,, buuuuut on maybe a little more positive note   im not a fisheries biologist but i have jus as much knowlege as them... FACT ,,WHEN THEY TEST FISH FOR PCBS MERCURY ETC,,  they take the whole fish grind them up and get the results.....meaning  most of the contaniments build up in the brain fatty belly meat and organs...... well dont know bout you but i dont eat fish heads or entrails.... cancers and other sicknesses dont usually aquire in lean tissue aka  trimmed fillets  so  guess consume at your own risk

You are correct about grinding the whole fish up testing for PCBs but for mercury and cloradane are found in the adipose tissue the part we eat.You cant limit them only by limiting your meals.

The source has to be new. Half-life of pcbs range from 3 to 16 years depending on which type

The dredging, if done recently, can be a reason why. Outside of everything already mentioned, the only other new thing on the river is all those gas wells around Pulaski.

PCBs are manufactured and were outlawed with production ceasing world wide in 1979, so it is said.

Anything from itchy eyes to several kinds of cancer have been attributed to PCB.

One report explains that PCB can become air bourne and inhaled. Sights persons living along the Hudson River, in certain areas, are at greater risk from breathing the air than eating fish, from the river.

Many of the symptoms are the same as being exposed to lead or other products such as talcum powder.

I am not against the stopping or warnings associated with certain materials, man made or otherwise. I just wish there could be a way to outlaw turning things into the bogeyman to further the agenda, of some whose goal is to, destroy their competition. e.g., closing fish hatcheries because fish poop in the water and suddenly there is new styles of fish hatcheries...... EH?

There was a huge dump site up on North River road that closed years ago. I believe it was forcibly closed by enacted environmental laws . It actually overlooks the river across from old Shenango Steel. There is a cemetery across from it ( how coincidental ). That dump took in tons and tons of waste in its day until closed. Ironically it's also above (upstream)  our drinking water process plant. One has to trust or wonder how safe that continues to be.
 
Shenango Steel , Sharon Tube , Westinghouse, National Castings, Sharon Steel , Wheatland Tube all were built and had river access for years. The river was in bad shape in those days as far as pollution. Now most are gone and environmental laws have put in many usage restrictions. Maybe late but never the less much safer.
 
A few years back there was a small business in Sharon along the river and the owner was rolling and dumping out barrels of used chemicals or oil waste from his place into the river at night ! The low life was finally nailed and arrested but I forget the final outcome. One has to wonder how long did this pig do this and I hope he served some stiff jail time and fines.
 
As far as that dredging of river sediment that was done years ago and Westinghouse was held for most of that cost since they admitted to PCB contamination in and around the plant. I was told the fear of PCB future lawsuits was one of the main reasons for shutting the plant down. I worked there for a few short years and the PCB's were in the transformer oils that cooled the large transformers we built. It was actually a clean plant inside and I seen no actual bad handling of oil and chemicals , but who knows what went or leaked into sewer systems with a plant almost a mile long!
 
It's too bad about Shenango's PCB pollution problem it's actually loaded with fish and wildlife all along it's banks. I've spent years of outdoor time there and still do .        

I'm glad this doesn't include the lake.
 

Just wondering if those torrential downpours will have much affect on the lake level. That was some heavy stuff twice today plus what fell yesterday. Betcha Clark Boat launch get closed.


According to info from the park, as of this mornings report, the lake has fallen a few inches in the past 24 hours.

Captain Hook, were any of those sites you mentioned targets of the "Superfund" clean up. Maybe nobody raised enough hell about it. Remember that place up in NY above Buffalo? What was it called??? (****, my memory is failing me). Anyway, they bought out and moved the whole community. I think that pollution was from Union Carbide. Here locally, they're still dealing with the NUMEC fiasco over in Apollo, Pa. My older brother worked at Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corp. back in the late '60s. He'll be 69 in October, and he's had 3 different kinds of cancers so far, plus it has been found that he grows bones where there aren't supposed to be any. NUMEC was one of the very first companies to supply fuel rods for the Nuclear Submarine program. There are two heavily contaminated sites up there, and one is right on the Kiski River. Still gonna be bad news for a long time. The Kiski dumps into the Allegheny at Freeport.