Brooklyn’s notoriously toxic Gowanus Canal is such a health hazard that the feds today specifically warned the public not to fall in the water or to eat fish or crabs from it.

The US. Environmental Protection Agency — which is overseeing a $500 million Superfund cleanup of the 1.8-mile canal — released a study confirming what many already assumed: the Gowanus is a cancer-causing cesspool and among the nation’s most polluted waterways.

EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck said the agency’s year-long probe “confirmed that contamination of the urban waterway is widespread and may threaten people’s health, particularly if they eat fish or crabs from the canal or have repeated contact with the canal water or sediment.”

EPA investigators found a widespread presence of more than a dozen contaminants in the sludge at the bottom of the canal, including lead, mercury and cancer-causing PCBs.

But the most common contaminant is another cancer-causing substances known as PAHs, which were formed decades ago through the incomplete burning of coal, oil, gas, and other organic substances at former gas plants along the canal.

Those who eat fish and craps caught in the canal are at risk of exposure from cancer-causing PCBs. People who come in regular contact with the water are at risk of PAHs, officials said.

The good news is that air directly around the canal – while containing some contaminants – is considered safe.

EPA will now study how best to clean up the canal, which was filled with industrial traffic from the mid 19th Century through the 1960s.

The cleanup is expected to take at least a decade to complete, with polluters required through Superfund to pick up the tab. The city is already investing $140 million to cut down on its sewage overflow into the canal.

EPA will hold a public meeting to present the findings on February 23 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at PS 32 at 317 Hoyt Street in Carroll Gardens.

(Source: NY Post)