WAUKEGAN, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois agency says it is continuing to test fish caught from Waukegan Harbor, which was found to be contaminated four decades ago.
The (Waukegan) News Sun reports that Diane Tecic of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources told the Waukegan Citizens Advisory Group that sampling will focus on about half-dozen different fish species native to the harbor. Cleanup efforts started 25 years ago after the harbor was found to be contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyl or PCB.
Tecic says the testing’s goal is to check PCB contamination. The Illinois Department of Public Health issued a consumption warning for Waukegan Harbor fish from 1993 to 1997. Fish can now be caught and consumed from the harbor.
The agency says Waukegan Harbor remains a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Area of Concern.
