EPA sees no early cleanup of PCBs

Cristina C. Breen, AP writer Copyright 1998 Bergen County Record December 18, 1998

No quick fix would help stop the flow of PCBs from certain"hot spots in the Hudson River, and no immediate dredging should be conducted at those sites, federal officials announced Thursday.

The Environmental Protection Agency had been considering taking early action such as capping or dredging sediment in areas in the riverbed where PCBs were found to be surfacing and floating downstream.

"There was nothing that we could figure out to do short-term that made any sense,"EPA spokesman Richard Stapleton said.

While EPA tests were able to identify the most polluted areas, "there was nothing we could do in a limited way that would stem the worst pollution,"Stapleton said.

The EPA's decision will not affect the agency's timetable in formulating a long-range, river wide strategy for dealing with Hudson PCB contamination, officials said. That plan is scheduled to be adopted by June 2001.

"There is no quick fix available, and the most responsible thing we
can do is continue our efforts to achieve a remedial decision within the time frame we're committed to,"EPA Regional Administrator Jeanne Fox said.

The EPA started looking into taking quick action in July, when its scientists reported that much of the PCBs, which were believed to be harmlessly imbedded in the river sediments were gone, and floating down the Hudson River system.

According to the report, samples taken in 1994 showed that roughly 40 percent of the PCBs noted in the same silt in tests 10 years earlier were gone.

Pollution from General Electric Co. factories on the Hudson is largely blamed for the PCB content in the Hudson. The substance, used as insulating material in transformers and other electrical equipment, was banned by the federal government in 1977.

GE has been arguing with state and federal governments over whether contaminated sediments should be removed from the river, or whether the natural flow of the Hudson will cause silt to cover the polluted materials.

The news brought relief to GE officials, who have continually criticized dredging as an answer to PCB pollution in the Hudson.

"We believe the EPA reached the correct decision, based on the facts,"GE spokesman Mark Behan said.

GE officials maintain that PCB contaminants are being buried by silt on the river's bed, not escaping downstream as the EPA reported.

PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, have been linked to cancer in animals in laboratory tests.

Comments on this posting?
Click here to post a public comment on the Trash Talk Bulletin Board.
Click here to send a private comment to the Junkman.

---

Material presented on this home page constitutes opinion of Steven J. Milloy.

Copyright © 1998 Steven J. Milloy. All rights reserved on original material. Material copyrighted by others is used either with permission or under a claim of "fair use." Site developed and hosted by WestLake Solutions, Inc.