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Case: New Bedford
Harbor, MA
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Site History: Chronic releases of hazardous substances, 1940s-1970s.
Location: New Bedford Harbor, Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts.
Trustees:
Case status: Natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) settlement in 1992 for 20.2 million.
Overview: New
Bedford Harbor is a major commercial fishing port and industrial center
in southeastern Massachusetts on Buzzards Bay. From the 1940s
to the 1970s, electrical parts manufacturers discharged wastes
containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and toxic metals into New Bedford Harbor,
resulting in high levels of contamination throughout the waters,
sediments and biota of the Harbor and parts of Buzzards Bay. Hundreds
of acres of marine sediment were highly contaminated. One location
contained the highest concentrations of PCBs ever documented in
a marine environment.
Biological effects of the contamination include reproductive impairment and death of marine life throughout the estuary,
along with loss of marine biodiversity in areas of high contamination. The
economic impact was severe, due to long-term fishing closures, lost beach use,
diminished property values, and reduced opportunities for coastal development.
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