September 2, 2025 — Just north of Pope’s Island in the New Bedford Harbor, a giant, 12-acre pit sits at the bottom of the ocean, covered by layers of sand and rock. Filled with contaminated soil, the pit is meant to exist indefinitely, gradually collecting more sediment until it grows into a pronounced lump on the ocean floor.
The pit contains soil contaminated with PCBs, the manufacturing byproduct that has leaked into New Bedford’s seafood and prompted a decades-long federal cleanup effort.