PORT ANGELES – Clallam County health officials have warned people not to eat crab caught in Port Angeles harbor, citing levels of polychlorinated biphenyls hundreds of times higher than nearby bays.
The pollutants – better known as PCBs – were found during clam and crab sampling for the cleanup of the former Rayonier pulp mill site at the foot of Ennis Street.
The samples – which also contained high levels of dioxins – were compared to crabs caught in Freshwater Bay to the west of Port Angeles and Dungeness Bay to the east.
Crabs from those areas were found to be safe to eat.
The crab season, however, is currently closed while the crustaceans molt.
It will reopen July 4.
