Some Washington tribes finally get what they’ve spent decades pressing the federal government for as part of the Columbia River is added to the list of “Superfund” cleanup sites.
Bradford Island, about 40 miles east of Portland, was used as for hazardous waste disposal and chemical storage for decades after building of the Bonneville Dam.
A half-dozen tribes use that area for traditional fishing and hunting grounds, and Yakima Nation Council member, Gerald Lewis, says their way of life, which depends on fishing, has been and continues to be degraded. “Our fish consumption rates are significantly higher than that of the average American,” Lewis says, “and for this, we are at higher risk of health impacts from contamination.”
That risk is created by fish with tens of thousands of times the levels of PCBs – Polychlorinated Biphenyls – than is considered safe for human consumption.
The EPA’s addition of this site to the National Priorities List means it can move forward on cleanup with the Army Corps of Engineers, but they can’t yet say how long it’ll take or how much it’ll cost. The Corps has already done years of study and cleanup work at the site, but more study is needed in certain areas, and the work already done by the Corps is expected to help inform that.
