PCBs

Polychlorinated Biphenyls, or PCBs, are carcinogens typically used in industrial applications as coolants and lubricants. They are preferred because they are non-corrosive and relatively non-flammable. General Electric (GE) Plants along the Hudson River discharged over 1 million pounds of PCBs between 1947 and 1977 (the year they were banned), far exceeding the permitted amount. There are currently 7 million pounds of PCBs in landfills in the Hudson Valley.

PCBs have been known to reduce the body's ability to fight infections and have also been linked to low birth weights and learning problems, as well as detrimental neurodevelopmental effects in newborns and children. Consumption of fish that have absorbed PCBs through bioaccumulation poses an increased risk of cancer, especially in the liver and kidneys. PCBs cannot be excreted; they accumulate over time in fat tissue and can be found in breast milk.

When PCBs are burned the airborne particles settle in water and soil and then easily transmittable into food and drinking water originating from the area. PCBs can also evaporate out of water and be absorbed through inhalation.

Despite the well-known risks of PCBs, GE threatened to abandon the Hudson Valley if made to reduce its PCB discharges. GE's discharges have polluted 200 miles of the Hudson and the river is now on the federal government's National Priority List of hazardous waste sites. This Superfund designation stretches from Hudson Falls to New York City.

The EPA has recommended against eating fish caught from the Hudson. The EPA recently decided in favor of dredging PCBs from the Hudson River. The proposed method has been compared to a vacuum, sucking up particles in "hot spots" on the riverbed, while allowing normal activity on the river. GE has delayed dredging until 2008, however, while it builds a 1,500-foot tunnel in the bedrock as "source control."

GE spends $2 million per week on a public relations campaign to convince local public opinion to be against dredging. This sounds expensive but GE would otherwise spend between $500 million and $1 billion cleaning the Hudson. GE clearly favors the value of the dollar over the value of our health and the health of the area in which we live.