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    Waukegan Harbor

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    In the 1970s, a toxic chemical spill of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) occurred in Waukegan Harbor in Illinois. It took several years and until 1992 for cleanup efforts to begin, despite the known toxicity of PCBs. By 2012, almost 30 years later, the EPA prioritized cleaning up the harbor. Dredging in 2014 removed approximately 1 million pounds of PCBs, and samples since 2017 show decreased PCB levels in fish. However, the full environmental and health impacts took around 40 years to address, constituting an environmental justice issue given Waukegan's high poverty rates and crime.

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    Waukegan Harbor

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    75 views3 pages
    In the 1970s, a toxic chemical spill of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) occurred in Waukegan Harbor in Illinois. It took several years and until 1992 for cleanup efforts to begin, despite the known toxicity of PCBs. By 2012, almost 30 years later, the EPA prioritized cleaning up the harbor. Dredging in 2014 removed approximately 1 million pounds of PCBs, and samples since 2017 show decreased PCB levels in fish. However, the full environmental and health impacts took around 40 years to address, constituting an environmental justice issue given Waukegan's high poverty rates and crime.

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    In the 1970s, a toxic chemical spill of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) occurred in Waukegan Harbor in Illinois. It took several years and until 1992 for cleanup efforts to begin, despite the known toxicity of PCBs. By 2012, almost 30 years later, the EPA prioritized cleaning up the harbor. Dredging in 2014 removed approximately 1 million pounds of PCBs, and samples since 2017 show decreased PCB levels in fish. However, the full environmental and health impacts took around 40 years to address, constituting an environmental justice issue given Waukegan's high poverty rates and crime.

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    75 views3 pages

    Waukegan Harbor

    Uploaded by

    api-644536965
    In the 1970s, a toxic chemical spill of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) occurred in Waukegan Harbor in Illinois. It took several years and until 1992 for cleanup efforts to begin, despite the known toxicity of PCBs. By 2012, almost 30 years later, the EPA prioritized cleaning up the harbor. Dredging in 2014 removed approximately 1 million pounds of PCBs, and samples since 2017 show decreased PCB levels in fish. However, the full environmental and health impacts took around 40 years to address, constituting an environmental justice issue given Waukegan's high poverty rates and crime.

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    Kylie Gavin

    Dr. Kent
    NRES 102

    Waukegan Harbor

    Around the 1970s, in Waukegan, Illinois, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) spilled into the local
    harbor. PCB is a toxic chemical that was leaked out of a boat. At the time, PCB was commonly
    used as a lubricant despite it being incredibly toxic. As mentioned in an article entitled “PCBs in
    Fish and Shellfish” written by EDF Seafood Selector, PCB poses serious developmental risks to
    babies and children; it can also be harmful to adults as well.  The more exposure the more
    seriousness of the effects of these chemicals (“PCBs in Fish and Shellfish”) 
    Despite the known toxicity of these chemicals, the clean-up efforts of the PCB spill took
    several years. Throughout the 2000s, the harbor was still being cleansed of PCBs. The pollution
    from the spill was so bad that fish and wildlife along the harbor were poisoned. According to
    The Great Lakes Coalition in the article entitled “Polluted Harbor Finally on the Road to
    Recovery,” the contaminants “ruined fish and wildlife habitats and caused beach closings.” Even
    with all the destruction of the wildlife, it was not until 1992 that the Outboard Marine Corp., who
    was deemed responsible for the spill, started clearing some of the toxic sediments. After that, the
    harbor was still found to be polluted for many years after. Again, in 2012, almost thirty years
    after the spill, the EPA decided to make the harbor’s cleanup a priority (“Polluted Harbor Finally
    on the Road to Recovery). Then, in 2014, the harbor area was dredged. As mentioned in an
    article written by Danielle Nelson, a member of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources
    Coastal Management Program, entitled “Waukegan Harbor Area of Concern,” “approximately 1
    million pounds of PCBs have been removed” and, since 2017, samples show that “PCB
    concentrations in smaller-sized fish” have “decreased significantly.” Therefore, the
    environmental dredging was deemed successful in both restoring the harbor and eliminating the
    PCBs (Nelson). 
    The entire Waukegan Harbor incident is an example of an environmental justice issue. It
    took roughly 40 years for the contaminants that were spilled into the harbor to be cleared. When
    taking into consideration the demographics of the Waukegan area, it is clear there was a lack of
    social justice. As outlined in the World Population Review, in the section labeled “Waukegan,
    Illinois Population 2021,” it is seen that roughly nineteen percent of Waukegan’s population
    lives in poverty, which is higher than the national average. On top of that, Waukegan has a high
    crime rate. The crime rate is also above the national average. With all this in mind, the clear
    environmental issue surrounding Waukegan Harbor becomes more of an injustice issue as well.
    The number of years it took to have the harbor cleared is a clear violation of environmental
    justice. In no way is forty years of toxins in the harbor a fair distribution of environmental
    burdens. The lack of concern for Waukegan Harbor needs to be addressed. The amount of time
    between the spill and the dredging needs to be addressed. The fact that the Harbor’s website
    must warn residents about the fish they catch containing PCBs to this day needs to be addressed.
    This spill should have been taken more seriously. I only recently came to know about this issue
    through my mom, who mentioned it when talking about environmental injustices. I went to high
    school with so many people from Waukegan and none of them were even aware of the situation
    because the spill itself happened before they were born, yet they were living through the
    consequences of it. 
    Overall, the Waukegan Harbor incident is an example of an environmental justice issue.
    Being a city with a high poverty rate and a high crime rate, the chemical spill of PCBs was not
    taken seriously. It took roughly forty years for the levels of PCB to decrease significantly. This is
    still an ongoing issue. To this day, Waukegan Harbor continues to have to warn residents of the
    dangers of eating fish caught from the Harbor as well as the effects of PCBs. The best way to fix
    these types of issues is to start working on them right away. The longer people wait, the harder it
    is to fix these chemical spills. Environmental injustices will continue to be an issue for many
    places in the United States until environmental burdens and benefits are distributed equally
    among people of all backgrounds, races, and incomes. Even then, the goal is to not distribute
    environmental issues but rather to put an end to the issues themselves.
    Works Cited (Great Lakes Coalition) (World Population, 2021)
    Great Lakes Coalition. (n.d.). Polluted Harbor Finally on the Road to Recovery. Retrieved from
    Healthy Lakes: https://healthylakes.org/success_stories/polluted-harbor-finally-on-the-
    road-to-recovery/
    Nelson, D. (n.d.). Waukegan Harbor Area of Concern. Retrieved from Illinois Government :
    https://www2.illinois.gov/dnr/cmp/Documents/Waukegan_AOC_factsheet.pdf
    SeaFood Selector. (n.d.). PCBs in Fish and Shellfish. Retrieved from EDF Seafood Selector:
    https://seafood.edf.org/pcbs-fish-and-shellfish
    World Population. (2021). Waukegan, Illinois Population 2021. Retrieved from World
    Population: https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/waukegan-il-population

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