Hudson River Pcb Pollution

Hudson River PCB Pollution is Affecting Wildlife Bird Species
Introduction
Studies over species in the Hudson River ecosystem have increased in recent years. This is done in return to the large amount of PCBs that have been found in the Hudson River. Polychlorinated Biphenyls or PCBs are a group of 209 organic chlorinated chemicals (DHS, 2016). PCBs are usually an oily liquid or a solid, which are colorless or have a light yellow color, with no smell or taste (DHS, 2016). PCBs are a created, manufactured chemical and to this day there are no signs of a natural source of PCBs (DHS, 2016). Since PCBs are so resistant to acids and bases they were used a lot for insulation in electrical equipment such as transformers and capacitors (Greenfacts, 2016). PCBs are also found in things like surface coatings, adhesives, flame retardants and paints (Greenfacts, 2016). After these items are thrown out the PCB waste can be released into the air. This is why many fear that PCB

The study examined five different sites, three in which were contaminated and downstream from Hudson Falls, New York (McCarty and Secord, 1999). The final two sites were at Ithaca and Champlain, Champlain being located 5km upstream from Hudson Falls (McCarty and Secord, 1999). At each one of these sites, 25 to 35 nest boxes were placed along the river’s edge, each box placed in areas with plenty of suitable nesting material (McCarty and Secord, 1999). To measure the overall nest quality two measure were used, the mass and the number of feathers around the cup of the nest (McCarty and Secord, 1999). The mass would be weighed on the day the egg was laid and on the day the egg hatched (McCarty and Secord, 1999). While the number of feathers would be counted on the day the first egg was laid, when the clutch of the eggs was completed and on the day that the eggs hatched. (McCarty and Secord,