How Upriver PCBs Affect the Harbor Estuary

Phase 1 of General Electric's dredging of PCB-contaminated sediment in the upper Hudson concluded last fall after five and a half months of work. With oversight from the Environmental Protection Agency, the company had expected to address 10% of the material estimated to need dredging. Contamination in some areas was worse than expected, however, and not all dredge areas targeted for Phase 1 were completed. According to the EPA web site, "Phase 2 will start full production only after an evaluation of Phase 1 is made and reviewed by the public and an independent panel of experts. Phase 2 is expected to begin in 2011 and will address the remaining contamination over five years."

The map at right, taken from the EPA web site, shows the entire 200-mile Hudson River Superfund site. Dredging is taking place north of Saratoga Springs. For a closer look at this map and a diagram depicting how people and animals are exposed to contaminants in the Upper and Lower Hudson, click here.

Over the decades, PCBs have flowed down the Hudson River and settled in the Harbor. The NY State Department of Environmental Conservation's Contamination Assessment and Reduction Project concluded that if PCBs continued to settle at current levels, Harbor sediment contamination could remain for 30 years.

On Monday, March 15, the Hudson River Foundation will present "PCB Remedial Dredging: Phase 1 Results and Relevance to New York/New Jersey Harbor Estuary," a special seminar about progress and decisions being made now that will impact future conditions in the Harbor Estuary. Walter Mugdan, EPA's Director of the Emergency and Remedial Response Division for Region 2, will discuss the Phase 1 dredging and EPA's findings. The seminar will take place at Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian (One Bowling Green in Lower Manhattan) from 3pm to 5pm. The presentation is free, with a reception to follow. Seating is limited. RSVP with name, address, e-mail and phone number to info@hudsonriver.org or 212-483-7667.