| Counties: |
Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris |
| Parameter: |
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in Fish Tissue |
| Basins: |
Bays & Estuaries, San Jacinto River |
| Segments: |
0901, 1001, 1005, 1006, 1007, 2421, 2426, 2427, 2428, 2429,
2430, 2436, 2438 |
 |
|
Houston Ship
Channel
Satellite photo courtesy
of NASA
|
Background and
Goals
Because concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have
been detected in fish tissue, the DSHS issued consumption advisory
ADV-20 in October 2001, for all species of finfish in much of the
Houston Ship Channel. In January 2005, the Department of State
Health Services (DSHS) issued another advisory related to PCBs,
ADV-28, for speckled trout, also known as spotted seatrout or
spotted weakfish, in Upper Galveston Bay and a large percentage of
the Houston Ship Channel.
PCBs can affect human health even at low concentrations.
Although their manufacture is now banned, PCBs are extremely
persistent in the environment. In response to these advisories, the
TCEQ initiated a total maximum daily load (TMDL) project to
determine the measures necessary to restore the fish consumption
use in the Houston Ship Channel and Upper Galveston Bay.
The goal of a TMDL is to restore the affected use of the water
body by determining the amount (or load) of a pollutant that it can
receive and still support its designated uses. The load is then
allocated among all the controllable sources of pollution within
the watershed, and measures to reduce pollutant loads are developed
as necessary. The TMDL is part of the state's Water Quality
Management Plan after it is adopted by the commission and approved
by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
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Public
Participation
An advisory
group is consulting with the TCEQ on this project. Advisory
group meetings are open to all. Find out
more about meetings and membership of the advisory group.
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For More Information
For information about this project, contact Larry Koenig at
512/239-4533. Or send an e-mail to tmdl@tceq.state.tx.us, and
reference the Houston Ship Channel PCBs project in the subject
line.
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