Home / Environment / Great Lakes PCB Cleanup: A $1.3B, 17-Year Battle Won
Great Lakes PCB Cleanup: A $1.3B, 17-Year Battle Won
27 May
Summary
- Nearly $1.3 billion was spent on the 17-year cleanup effort.
- Over 6.5 million cubic yards of contaminated sediment were removed.
- Fish may not be safe to eat for another 30 years.
Decades of industrial pollution in the Great Lakes, specifically the Lower Fox River and Green Bay, have been addressed through a massive cleanup operation targeting polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
This extensive remediation project spanned 17 years, from 2004 to 2020, and involved the removal of approximately 6.5 million cubic yards of contaminated sediment from a 39-mile stretch. The effort, widely recognized as one of the world's largest PCB remediation projects, cost nearly $1.3 billion.
PCBs, virtually indestructible chemicals used widely in manufacturing from the 1930s to the 1970s, were discharged into the river by paper mills. Their use was banned in 1979 due to significant health and environmental risks.
While the cleanup, funded entirely by paper companies, was certified complete in late 2022 and early 2023, long-term monitoring is ongoing. Current projections suggest it will take upwards of 30 years from 2024 for fish in the river to be safe for consumption, underscoring the enduring legacy of PCB contamination.
