PCBs

Decades after toxic chemicals were discovered in the Esperanza neighborhood, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the contamination no longer poses a threat on land and launched an investigation into its reach into the bay. Amid cleanup and rebuilding after the 2020 earthquakes, residents of Guánica are organizing.

A University of Miami research found a carcinogenic contaminant in the blood samples of 86% of the people who participated in the study. It is also the first confirmation that the chemical substance is also in the air.

Residents of the Esperanza neighborhood in Guánica have been waiting for nine months for emergency decontamination coordinated by the EPA to kick off and for the broadening of an investigation to identify the extent of the contamination.

Even though the EPA recognized the risk posed by the consumption of fish from the bay after a  Center for Investigative Journalism’s investigation, neither the municipality nor federal or local agencies have taken measures to prevent recreational fishing and warn  the public about the risks of consuming species from this body of water.