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 will be 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 is now underway (2011 dredging season completed November 8, 2011 – See summary of work below). ESC will be providing technical assistance for Phase II of the project during which approximately 350,000 cubic yards of sediment will be removed from the remainder of the contaminated river targeted for dredging.
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
ESC Documents
First 5 Year Review Key Points Factsheet, June 13, 2012
Hudson River CAG Presentation, March 22, 2012
Hudson River Cleanup and PCBs Community Advisory Group Report, March 22, 2012
Hudson River PCBs Superfund Site Phase II Monitoring Presentation to CAG Meeting, December 08, 2011
Report to Hudson River Sloop Clearwater Regarding the cleanup of Hudson River PCBs, October 5, 2011
Community Groups working with Hudson River PCBs