The massive urban development of the northeast has resulted in discharged contaminants such as heavy metals, PCBs, and pesticides throughout the region’s waters. The number of industrial sites is much lower today, but their legacy continues as pollution leaks from abandoned industrial sites, landfills and disposal areas. Over time, these contaminants concentrate in sediments at the bottom of rivers, lakes, and bays. Some of the highest concentrations in the Northeast occur in Narragansett Bay, New York/New Jersey Harbor and Bight, and western Long Island Sound, where elevated levels of heavy metals (e.g., arsenic, chromium, mercury, nickel, silver, and zinc), PCBs, and pesticides occur. There are numerous impaired aquatic habitats [...]
