Dioxin and PCBs in Galveston Bay and the Houston Ship Channel.

You are invited to join H-GAC to discuss  dioxin and PCBs in the Houston Ship Channel and Galveston Bay. In addition to presentations by Larry Koenig from TCEQ and Hanadi Rifai of University of Houston regarding progress and future plans for the TCEQ projects to address the contamination, Stephen Tzhone from EPA will provide information about the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site.

PCBs and dioxin have been found in fish tissue in the Houston Ship Channel and Upper Galveston Bay, resulting in seafood consumption advisories being issued by the Department of State Health Services. Dioxin and PCB are generic terms for two suites of environmentally persistent compounds that have been associated with adverse health conditions.  In response to the advisories, two TMDL projects, one for dioxins and one for PCBs, have been initiated to determine the measures necessary to restore water quality in water bodies affected by the consumption advisories in the Houston Ship Channel and Upper Galveston Bay. Additional information about the TMDLs, including past meeting information, can be found at http://www.h-gac.com/community/water/tmdl/hsc-ugb/default.aspx.