The groups say PCB levels in the river show dredging was not as effective as the federal government predicted
Environmental groups say EPA figures show that General Electric’s dredging of the Hudson River to remove chemicals the company had dumped had not accomplished the goals of the cleanup. Times Union file photo
By Roger Hannigan Gilson, Times Union
FORT EDWARD — A coalition of environmental groups said Tuesday that the remedial dredging of the Hudson River by General Electric a decade ago to remove carcinogenic chemicals was not as effective as the federal government predicted when they ordered the cleanup.
The groups, which include Riverkeeper and the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Sierra Club, called the remediation a failure in a report that analyzed Environmental Protection Agency data about the current levels of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, in the river.
General Electric dumped 1.2 million pounds of the carcinogenic industrial chemical into the Hudson River from 1947 to 1977 near its facilities north of Albany. These “forever chemicals” do not naturally break down. GE entered into a consent decree with the federal government to dredge the river bottom north of Troy, a project the company completed in 2015.
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