ARLINGTON, Texas _ The water and sediment of the Trinity River near Fort Worth and Dallas continue to show elevated levels of the pollutant that prompted a 2002 ban on consumption of fish from the stream, according to samples collected this spring and summer.
Although modest improvements have been made downriver, concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, continue to be found in fish tissue, in-stream water, sediment and wastewater discharges, said Kirk Dean, a water-quality expert with Austin-based Parsons, which is studying the Trinity River for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
PCB levels exceeded the water-quality criteria in 13 of 15 samples taken from the Trinity River. Levels were higher in older, dense urban areas and lower near suburbs and rural areas.
The two likeliest PCB sources were Marine Creek near the Fort Worth Stockyards and Sycamore Creek. Officials still do not know the exact source _ soil, groundwater, old transformers or something else.
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