The Hudson River and PCBs

Paper Summary:

The paper explains that Hudson River has been characterized as one of the country's worst cases of PCB contamination. The author points out that community residents have advanced two primary issues of concerns about the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) announced plan to remediate the high concentrations of PCBs in the Hudson by dredging the material from the river: (1) the possible re-suspension of contaminants during dredging and (2) the disposition of dredged PCB-contaminated soil. The paper relates that, despite the glaring need for more research to identify better ways of remediating the affected parts of the Hudson River, the fact remains that the industries, which are primarily responsible for the problem in the first place, continue to stonewall by introducing spurious studies they have funded in an effort to delay or avoid any responsibility. The paper includes a table.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Review and Discussion
Background and Overview.
Stakeholders in the Hudson River Case.
Summary and Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Other metals such as barium, chromium, aluminum, lead, and manganese are also being released into the Hudson from runoff and discharges points, and are sometimes found at discernible levels in ambient water quality testing in the lower Hudson. During a 14-year period in the late 20th century, researchers found that (a) lead represented 58.5 percent of violations of Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) water quality standards for the protection of human and aquatic life, (b) cadmium for 6.1 percent, and mercury for 4.7 percent, out of a total 2,123 water quality violations in the Hudson River."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Adams, Arthur G. 1996. The Hudson River Guidebook. New York: Fordham University Press.
• Bae, Jeehyeon, Stephen A. Boyd, Rita Loch-Caruso, Mahmoud A. Mousa and John F. Iii Quensen . 2001. "Stimulation of Contraction of Pregnant Rat Uterus in Vitro by Non- Dechlorinated and Microbially Dechlorinated Mixtures of Polychlorinated Biphenyls. Environmental Health Perspectives, 109(3), p. 275.
• Baibergenova, Akerke, David O. Carpenter, Rustam Kudyakov, and Michael Zdeb. 2003. "Low Birth Weight and Residential Proximity to PCB-Contaminated Waste Sites." Environmental Health Perspectives, 111(10), p. 1352.
• Berkowitz, Gertrud S., Kathleen L. Caldwell, Panos Georgopoulos, Robert L. Jones, Wei Li, Paul J. Lioy, Regina M. Santella, Andreas Sjodin, Susan L. Teitelbaum, Wayman E. Turner, Richard Y. Wang , and Mary S. Wolff. 2005. "Exposures among Pregnant Women near the World Trade Center Site on 11 September 2001." Environmental Health Perspectives, 113(6), 739
• Claudio, Luz. 2002. "The Hudson: A River Runs through an Environmental Controversy." Environmental Health Perspectives, 110(4), 184.

More papers on The Hudson River and PCBs:

• Essay # 8907 : "Hazards on the Hudson"
• Essay # 8886 : "Hudson River Conservation Policies"

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