BRIEF: DEQ to Host Meeting Concerning Staunton River

By Sarah Watson, The News & Advance, Lynchburg, Va.

Aug. 4–The Department of Environmental Quality has been studying levels of PCBs in the Staunton River for several years and will host a meeting Tuesday in Brookneal to present an update to the public.

The meeting, at 6:30 p.m. at Brookneal Elementary School, will also provide the first opportunity for questions about the impending transfer of biosolids oversight from the health department to DEQ.

While there won’t be a formal presentation, DEQ staff members will be on hand to discuss the biosolids issue, said DEQ public affairs officer Bill Hayden.

PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, have been at the base of a fish advisory on the Staunton for several years. In January 2006, water samples were taken from sites along the river from Altavista to Clover, in Halifax County.

Water discharged from the Burlington Industries plant in Hurt had levels of PCBs far above the state limit of 1.7 parts per trillion.

Fish taken from those areas had levels of PCBs below the VDH concern level.

PCBs, which were banned in the late 1970s, can remain in the environment for decades. Increased exposure may increase cancer risks.

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