Although details have yet to be finalized, the proposed remediation involves removing 2.65 million yd 3 of contaminated sediments, an effort expected to cost the company more than $460 million. But, arguing that dredging will cause more harm than good, GE has spent tens of millions of dollars on attorneys, consultants, and public relations specialists to stall or prevent the cleanup. The specific goal of the remediation is to lower PCB levels in fish, which are the main source of exposure for people in Hudson River communities. Today, the residual contamination from PCB production plagues GE and other companies not only on the Hudson but also at numerous other sites around the world. The releases were legal at the time they occurred: PCBs were not banned by the Environmental Protection Agency from manufacture or release until 1997. brand names Aroclor 12) into the river during that time. Together, these plants released 400≨00 tons of PCBs (mainly under the Monsanto Co. The PCBs came from two capacitor manufacturing plants operated by GE from 1947 to 1975. The affected portion of the river stretches from the town of Hudson Falls to the rivers outfall in New York City. It also caps a long-standing and emotional battle between GE, which has resisted the cleanup, and a variety of advocacy groups that have pushed hard for remediation since a 200-mile stretch of the river was designated a Superfund site in 1981. The move is a major step toward the biggest environmental dredging effort ever attempted. history, ordering General Electric to remove thousands of pounds of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from the bottom of New Yorks Hudson River. But on August 1, 2001, it approved one of the largest cleanup operations in U.S. The Bush administration isnt usually recognized for having a strong environmental bent. The EPA has decided to proceed with dredging the Hudson. But will the cleanup operations reduce exposure of humans to PCBs or not? Update Figure 1: Locator Map.Environmentalists claimed victory when EPA approved dredging the Hudson River to remove polychlorinated biphenyls.
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