AcocellaAngelaWhyWorry



The Hudson River is the thirty third most polluted river in the United States. In 1936 the first study showed that PCBs, or Polychlorinated Biphenyls, a byproduct of coal tar, caused serious health issues. In 30 years, beginning in the early 1970s, over 200 miles of the river were polluted with over one million pounds of PCBs solely by GE. (1) By 1974, after an EPA study showed high levels of PCB’s in Hudson River fish, the US FDA set a safety standard at 5 parts per million PCBs in fish for human. This limit on consumption of Hudson fish was followed first by the passage of the Substance Control Act which banned the manufacture of PCBs and then a law making it illegal to fish in the Upper Hudson from Ft Edward Dam to the federal dam in Albany, closed Hudson fisheries, and warned people about the hazards of Hudson River fish consumption. In 1974, a NY Administrative Hearing found that the PCB pollution was GE’s fault. However it took GE two full years to stop dumping PCBs into the river. (2) The end of the dumping was far from the end of the problems. In 1976 GE agreed to spend $1 million on researching PCBs and another $3 million on a PCB monitoring system of the river and in return the would not be blamed for the pollution by the state of New York. The next few years showed little development on the issue. Then in 1984 the EPA did a study on the PCB problem in the Hudson and issued a Record of Decision which called for no action to be taken by any party. Then a testing sample of Hudson fish in 1992 showed that PCB levels had increased by 300% between 1991 and 1992. After more investigation, it was discovered that PCBs had been leaking into the ground from the GE plants since at least the 1980s. GE claimed they were unaware of this PCB leakage. (2) Long term exposure to toxins such as PCBs disrupts endocrine development in animals. It causes thyroid dysfunction and a decrease in fertility and hatching success in birds and fish. Indirect exposure in animals that feed on the fish of the Hudson River has the same effects. Studies have also shown that PCBs can be found in breast milk of women exposed to the chemicals. This is worrisome because most instances of health related problems in wildlife have been linked to toxin contamination in the mothers. In fact, in a study of pregnant women who ate contaminated fish from Lake Michigan, those who ate two to three per month in the 6 years before their pregnancies had slightly preterm births, and their children had low birth weights, smaller skull circumferences, and cognitive, motor and behavioral defects as compared to those of women who did not eat the fish. (3) This shows the impacts extended exposure to PCBs can have on humans. These types of concerns caused the implementation of catch and release programs for Hudson River fish. The DEC released the Hudson River PCB Action Plan in 1989 which called for the dredging of 250,000 pounds of sediment. Dredging is an excavation process which involves digging up bottom sediments and disposing of them at a different location. However, dredging of the Hudson River by GE did not begin until May 15, 2990, twenty years after the initial plan was established. (4) As of August 2010, EPA officials said the process may take seven to ten years, not six years as originally. In fact, the first phase of the project uncovered more contamination than expected. (5) There is hope to fix the Hudson River pollution problem but the process will be long and expensive. Awareness of the problems and impacts PCBs have is the first step to fixing the problem. With GE finally willing to take responsibility and begin cleanup efforts, there is greater potential for a cleaner Hudson River in the future.
 * The Issue:**
 * The Facts:**
 * The Reaction:**
 * The Environmental and Sustainability Impact:**
 * The (Late) Fix:**
 * Can We Fix** **It?:**

(1) [|Contamination of the Hudson River] (2) [|Hudson River PCB Pollution Timeline] (3) [|Developmental Effects of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals in Wildlife and Humans] (4) [|Wikipedia: Hudson River] (5) [|NY Times: Panel Urges Hudson Cleanup be Improved and Extended] Bottom of Form