PCBs

What are PCBs?
PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, are a group of man-made chemicals that were widely used as fire retardant insulation in electrical capacitors. PCBs were banned in the United States in 1977 and were recently identified by the World Health Organization as one of the most persistent and dangerous chemicals on earth. According to studies by The International Agency for Research on Cancer, the National Toxicology Program and others, PCBs are strongly linked to human cancer. Research also suggests they can damage the immune, reproductive and nervous systems, as well as cause developmental problems, especially in children.

PCBs in the Hudson River
The world’s largest source of PCB contamination is right here in New York’s Hudson River. The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that from the mid-1940s to 1977 some 1.3 million pounds of the toxic chemicals were dumped into the Hudson River from two General Electric Company (GE) plants located in Fort Edward and Hudson Falls. Many of the PCBs settled in and adhered to sediments on the river bottom. Although PCB production has ceased, river contamination continues via sediment breakdown and leakage from liquid pools captured in bedrock fractures under the old plants. According to the EPA, PCBs currently wash downstream at the rate of 1.2 to 3 pounds per day over the Federal Dam at Troy.

Can the River clean itself?
PCBs were designed not to break down. They are persistent organic pollutants that remain in the environment indefinitely. The EPA has found that less than 10percent have broken down naturally because dechlorination merely changes one form of PCB into another. So the river is not cleaning itself.

GE claims the PCB levels have dropped 90percent, however, that drop occurred in the 1970s after they were banned. Since the 1980s, the pollution has leveled off and remained quite constant and well above acceptable limits. A state Health Department DO NOT EAT FISH health advisory for women of childbearing age and children remains in effect on the Hudson River!

The EPA Cleanup Plan
The Hudson River is currently both the oldest and largest Superfund site in the country. Superfund law requires that the party responsible for the pollution is liable for cleanup, regardless of any permits they may have had. In December 2000, the fight to clean the river reached a new stage when the EPA, after years of scientific study and the evaluation of different cleanup alternatives, released its proposed PCB remediation plan. It calls for the removal of 100,000 pounds of PCB-contaminated sediment from the upper Hudson River using modern dredging techniques. On February 1, 2002, EPA Administrator Christie Whitman and Regional Administrator Jane Kenny signed the Record of Decision. The record calls for the dredging of a 40 mile stretch of contaminated river sediment. In order to allow for continual public input and educational opportunities, the EPA opened a regional office in the Village of Hudson Falls in the Town of Fort Edward, New York www.epa.gov/hudson 

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my tax dollars finance the cleanup? No. The law says that the polluter must pay. That’s why GE spent millions of dollars on an ad campaign of misinformation.

Will dredging make the river worse? No. Technological advances have been made in the last 15 years and suction removal has been successfully employed around the country. This vacuum process leaves the river so undisturbed that operators can often monitor the sediments with underwater cameras.

Was GE’s dumping legal at the time? GE frequently violated their pollution permits. Evidence that PCBs where harmful existed long before they were banned; GE - and state and federal regulators - chose to ignore that information.

Won’t it be destructive to dredge the whole river? The whole river does not need to be dredged. Only certain hot spots where PCBs are concentrated in the river will be dredged.

Will dredging harm the upstate economy? No. The cleanup will employ hundreds of area residents and bring income to area businesses. When the PCBs are finally gone, property values will increase and the commercial fishery - once valued at $40 million per year - may return. And recreational fishing opportunities will soar, leading to a significant increase in tourist dollars for the region.

Where will the toxins be stored after they’re removed? The EPA has agreed they will not be stored in a local landfill. Instead, they will be transported by rail to a federally designated containment facility.

Environmental Advocates of New York & PCBs
Environmental Advocates is a member of the Friends of a Clean Hudson, a coalition of environmental groups that is working for a cleanup of the Hudson River PCBs. Environmental Advocates has issued a number of press releases in support of cleaning up the Hudson River: