alamo beach area (Keller, Palacios, Comfort: home, pollution, eat)

[dianehughes]

i have a question maybe you can help me with..do you know anything about mercury contamination in the area of (alamo/almo)beach, 8-miles from port lavaca? i purchased property there and plan to build my home there -and someone mentioned to me -mercury in the area...?????[/quote]

[CptnRn]

Interesting, I was not aware of this previously, but found this. It is not at Alamo Beach but at the Alcoa Plant across the bay.

Lavaca Bay - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lavaca Bay hosts a wide range of finfish including Black drum, Flounder, Redfish, Sheepshead and Speckled trout,[2] however it suffers from mercury pollution. An Alcoa plant in Point Comfort dumped an estimated 67 pounds (30 kg) of mercury into the bay per day in the 1960s, affecting 64 square miles (170 km2).[9] A mercury superfund was established at the site, and the processing of oysters and blue crab in certain locations was prohibited.[13] A study revealed that the bay's detritus is more than ten times as contaminated as nearby Keller Bay.[14]

Locals have estimated that the only area still affected by contamination is just offshore from the Alcoa plant. Signs warning boaters of the water's toxicity are found at the site. The stigma attached to the bay due to reports of pollution has discouraged fishing, enabling a healthy population to develop.[9]

Untapped Lavaca Bay


You can find a link to the detailed EPA report here: http://www.tceq.texas.gov/remediatio...y/calhoun.html

There is also a State superfun site over near Palacios http://www.tceq.texas.gov/remediatio...matagorda.html

[jdrtx]

The bay is one of the first and biggest EPA superfund cleanup sites. Mercury is deep in the bottom of the bay. At least 18 inches. And you should not not eat the fish and especially shellfish from this bay. Alcoa is still a major employer in the area of which are the ones that contaminated the bay with mercury in the fifties when it was a free for all. Repeat, do not eat shellfish from Lavaca Bay.

Tapped Lavaca Bay

Good luck.



Restoration in Lavaca Bay, Texas | Restoration Projects | Natural Resource Restoration | NOAA's National Ocean Service Office of Response and Restoration (http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/topic_subtopic_entry.php?RECORD_KEY(entry_subtopic _topic)=entry_id,subtopic_id,topic_id&entry_id(ent ry_subtopic_topic)=396&subtopic_id(entry_subtopic_ topic)=20&topic_id(entry_subtopic_topic)=4 - broken link)

[dianehughes]

thank you very much...

Originally Posted by CptnRn

Interesting, I was not aware of this previously, but found this. It is not at Alamo Beach but at the Alcoa Plant across the bay.

Lavaca Bay - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Untapped Lavaca Bay


You can find a link to the detailed EPA report here: Superfund Sites in Calhoun County - Texas Commission on Environmental Quality - www.tceq.texas.gov

There is also a State superfun site over near Palacios Superfund Sites in Matagorda County - Texas Commission on Environmental Quality - www.tceq.texas.gov

[dianehughes]

thank you very much

Originally Posted by jdrtx

The bay is one of the first and biggest EPA superfund cleanup sites. Mercury is deep in the bottom of the bay. At least 18 inches. And you should not not eat the fish and especially shellfish from this bay. Alcoa is still a major employer in the area of which are the ones that contaminated the bay with mercury in the fifties when it was a free for all. Repeat, do not eat shellfish from Lavaca Bay.

Tapped Lavaca Bay

Good luck.



Restoration in Lavaca Bay, Texas | Restoration Projects | Natural Resource Restoration | NOAA's National Ocean Service Office of Response and Restoration (http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/topic_subtopic_entry.php?RECORD_KEY(entry_subtopic _topic)=entry_id,subtopic_id,topic_id&entry_id(ent ry_subtopic_topic)=396&subtopic_id(entry_subtopic_ topic)=20&topic_id(entry_subtopic_topic)=4 - broken link)