Feds: Toxins normal near California ghost fleet

[unhappycamper]

The battleship Iowa, bottom left, sits anchored with the mothball fleet in Suisun Bay,Calif., in this 2003 file photo.


Feds: Toxins normal near California ghost fleet
By Marcus Wohlsen - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Mar 12, 2009 20:31:04 EDT

SAN FRANCISCO — A fleet of mothballed warships rotting in waters near San Francisco Bay is not a major source of environmental contamination, federal scientists reported Thursday.

A study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that levels of PCBs, toxic metals and other compounds were typically no higher around the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet than elsewhere in Bay Area waterways.

Because of that, the agency said, it is not recommending any specific cleanup of sediments near the fleet. More than 70 old ships were kept afloat in case of war, but many have fallen into disrepair.

A congressional order set a 2006 deadline to scrap more than 50 ships, but a regulatory tussle between state and federal officials kept the fleet anchored in place.

A 2007 study commissioned by the U.S. Maritime Administration suggested the floating ships were shedding tons of toxic paint into the bay. State water regulators and environmentalists have sued the federal government, seeking the ships’ removal.


Rest of article at: http://navytimes.com/news/2009/03/ap_suisun_bay_fleet_031209/%2e