Hudson River PCBs Superfund Site

New York – New Jersey

The Hudson River PCBs Superfund Site is the former location of General Electric capacitor manufacturing plants. The Site begins at Hudson Falls and Fort Edward, upstream of 14 counties in New York and 2 counties in New Jersey. Between 1947 to 1977, GE facilities expelled 1.3 million pounds of PCBs, rendering fish of the Hudson River toxic, ultimately resulting in the closure of several local commercial and recreational fisheries.

In 2002, the EPA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) to focus on the cleanup of 40 miles of the most contaminated stretch of the Hudson River. The cleanup was conducted in two phases, dredging approximately 2.65 million cubic yards of PCB-contaminated sediment. GE carried out Phase I in May through November 2009 during which 283,000 cubic yards of PCB-contaminated sediment were dredged from six miles of the Upper Hudson River near Fort Edward. After careful investigation and assessment of the work done by GE, Phase II began and was completed in 2015. ESC provided technical assistance for Phase II of the project.

2016 Update

Phase II dredging was completed in the fall of 2015 as originally planned. In total, dredging lasted six years and removed approximately 300,000 pounds of PCBs from the 40 miles of river dredged. The next five-year review will be completed in 2017, and the EPA is being urged to initiate that process.

For comments and inquiries please contact Manna Jo Greene at Hudson River Sloop Clearwater.

Resources

United States Environmental Protection Agency

Damage Assessment, Remediation, & Restoration Program

United States Fish and Wildlife Service

U.S. EPA’s Technical
Assistance Services for Communities (TASC) Factsheet

NOAA & FWS Poster- Hudson River RemedyPart II:Habitat Replacement and Reconstruction and the Implications for Restoration

U.S. EPA Technical Requirements for Phase II of Hudson River Dredging Project Factsheet- Hudson River RemedyPart II:Habitat Replacement and Reconstruction and the Implications for Restoration

ESC Documents

Results of an ESC, LLC literature search regarding Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) research from 2002 to present (2013), with specific attention to toxicological impacts on living organisms.

Hudson River Phase II Dredging Monitoring Spreadsheet Jan. 1- June 15, 2013

Hudson River Phase II Dredging Monitoring Summary Jan. 1- June 15, 2013