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Hudson River Shipwrecks Secretly Mapped
jonerik writes "According to this article in the New York Times (registration required) more than 200 shipwreck sites lying beneath New York's Hudson River have been mapped by sonar. In fact, scientists feel confident that the location of every Hudson shipwreck between Manhattan and Troy has now been pinpointed, adding that the nearly oxygen-free mud of the Hudson nearly guarantees that many of the wrecks and their contents are almost perfectly preserved. The hitch? For the time being the maps - paid for as part of the $186 million Hudson River Estuary Plan - are not being published since state officials are nervous about the prospect of so many shipwrecks suddenly being opened up to salvagers on one of the U.S.'s busiest rivers. 'We don't want to ring the dinner bell for people who have ulterior motives and don't behave responsibly,' says Mark L. Peckham, a historic preservation coordinator at the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. In the meantime, state officials are now attempting to determine the historical significance of the wrecks and how they might be protected, which should hopefully lead to the publication of the Hudson River maps at some future date."
I just want to clairify a point that often gets lost. It seems to be common belief that the PCBs in the Hudson River are locked in the the sediment and just so long as nothing disturbs the sediment everything is A OK.
This is purpetuated by GE's ad campaign that shows pretty graphs with the PCB concentration dropping of dramatically in the 1970s (I can't remember exactly when) and saying "The River is healing itself!" What GE don't tell you is that this dramatic decrease is a result of them ceasing pollution. The PCB concentration in the water droped because GE stoped pumping PCBs into the water! NOT becasue the river is healing itself.
Furthermore, PCB levels in fish have remained constant. There is a reason you are not allowed to eat the fish in the Hudson River (only catch and release is allowed). I know of no real evidence that the PCBs remain 'locked' in the sediment.
To me this is a damn good example of a successful advertising campaign. The EPA really dropped the ball when GE spent millions and they [EPA] didn't respond in turn. Just look at the number of no dredging signs in the area, or if you're from the area ... chances are you've been visited by a GE PR rep (think kid on summer job) with nice fliers. I know I have. The kid was actually happy to get the other side of the story from my father, who is in a position to know damn well what goes on in that river.
Oh yeah, one other thing: modern dredging techniques don't use those bucket chains on the GE fliers ... they use a vacuum technology that prevents recontamination of the river bed.
My personal opinion is that GE should clean up their mess (ATM). And the EPA should have and should do a much better job with advertising.
And to stick with the parent ... you're right ... you really do not want Joe Adventurer (without advaced equipement) stiring things up. No sense in making things worse, again.
Actually there's a whole set of rules in admiralty for salvage rights over wrecks. This has come up more and more often as folks like Ballard locate old wrecks like Spanish galleons loaded with gold more easily. The disputes can get a little complicated.
Think of the ship at the bottom as not lost but in long-term storage. Just because someone can get to it before you can doesn't make it theirs. Access is not ownership. But if someone finds the wreck, they should be able to sell that information to the owner.
No, I can't justify these ancient rules. Changes may be in the wind.