Green Brooklyn links to an excellent Scienceline article that details the Gowanus Canal’s history of toxic pollution and gives an overview of current plans to clean up the waterway. Scientists are debating whether it makes more sense to dredge the canal or cap its toxic sediments, and they’re also examining how to go about remediating the land around the Gowanus. One of the story’s revelations, however, is that researchers have found more than just run-of-the-mill scary stuff like lead, sulfur, cyanide, asbestos, PCBs, mercury and volatile organic compounds in the canal:

Nilofaur Haque, a biologist at the New York City College of Technology, has her students analyze water samples and observe the oily substance that coats the water’s surface each afternoon. One group of students found gonohorrea in a water drop, said Haque.

As Green Brooklyn notes, Can’t wait for the ‘luxury condos.’
Tainted Lavender [Scienceline]
Sick Oysters In Gonohorrea — I Mean Gowanus — Canal [Green Brooklyn]