Pollution in Coastal Areas Found Easing

Chemical contamination has abated among vast stretches of America’s coastal waters, but high levels of toxic pollution still are found in major cities and industrial “hot spots,” the government reported Tuesday.

The report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration stems from a six-year study of chemical traces found in mussels, oysters, bottom-feeding fish and sediment at 287 coastal sites in 23 states, from Maine to Hawaii.

“There are local pockets (of severe contamination) but it’s not a general problem all over the United States,” concluded Thomas O’Connor, author of the NOAA report. He said the trend appears to be that chemical contamination of most coastal waters “seems to be decreasing.”

But the study included a number of caveats aimed at making clear that while nationwide coastal water pollution may not be as severe as believed, there are many regions of the country where high levels of toxic chemicals continue to contaminate stretches of water.

While overall assessment indicated vast coastal waters relatively free of chemical contamination, high levels of toxic chemicals were found in waterways near such urban areas as Boston, the New York-New Jersey coastal area, Baltimore, San Diego, Los Angeles and Seattle, the report said.

The study tested for traces of such metals as lead and cadmium.