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PCBs of the Twelve Mile River

Just when you thought all was clean and pure in the Twelve Mile, a new project proposal may prove us wrong. Sam Wyche, Pickens County Councilman, wants to remove fallen and leaning trees on the river to open up  a whitewater pathway for recreational activities, as well as picnicking on the sandbars in the river.  The EPA has started doing samples to evaluate any PCB risks to human health and the environment.

In 2006, the two dams on the river were removed to help clean out contaminants.  The public and Jennifer Willis, Pickens County Council Chairwoman, say that the whole river should be studied "from the site of the former capacitor manufacturing plant in Pickens that released PCBs decades ago to Lake Hartwell. Luckily, in data collected by the EPA every April from Town Creek by the plant "shows a 90% drop in contamination."

When data collection starts around mid-April 2012, it will start on the two-mile stretch of the river where the dams were removed. In addition to the water itself, the floodplains will be tested to determine PCB percentages in the sediments.  These places tested would likely be sandbars and other areas where picnics and children's play occur.

"Larry Dyck, who lives on the river and is a Pickens Soil and Water Conservation District commissioner, said study of wildlife also is needed. Health advisories posted on the river and Lake Hartwell warn against eating fish likely to carry PCBs. Dyck said PCBs are in the food chain and animals and birds such as raccoons and kingfishers that eat fish also are at risk."

I think Larry Dyck is right on for speaking up about the wildlife, because after studying the PCB-Hartwell-Twelve Mile case in so many cases, it really isn't just about the water.  After the animals on the upper end of the food chain eat the smaller ones, PCBs are passed around like a bad case of strep. Hopefully levels of contamination have dropped to a healthy level to gain approval to open up the area for recreation. It would open up more opportunities for Pickens to gain revenue from outside citizens.