Picture credited to EPA website http://www.epa.gov/region01/ge/thesite.html - check it out

Engineered Channel or Restored River: The Future of

The Housatonic

After PCB Removal; Five Approaches To River Restoration

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Crown Plaza Hotel, Pittsfield, MA

HRI presents

A conference moderated by Andrew Fahlund, V.P. for Conservation, American Rivers

9:00 Sign-in, set-up, coffee, conversation

9:30 Introductory remarks, Benno Friedman, Andrew Fahlund, TBA

10:00 Marty Melchior, Interfluve

10:45 Wendi Goldsmith, The Bioengineering Group

11:30 Jim McBroom, Milone & McBroom

12:15 Lunch

1:00 Keith Bowers, Biohabitats

1:45 Geoff Goll, Princeton Hydro

2:30 Panel discussion & closing remarks

3:30 Conference adjourns

For more info call HRI

Save the date - More info to follow
Tim Gray

Housatonic River Initiative
165 Bradley Street
Lee,MA 01238
413-446-2520
housriverkeeper@verizon.net

Wednesday, April 02
SHEFFIELD

Several hundred years ago, an unpalatable hardship was imposed on the citizens of Massachusetts by The British East India Company, a corporation whose thirst for profit, extracted from the colonies, outweighed all other considerations. The citizen response was immediate and ever since referred to as The Boston Tea Party, portrayed in our history lessons as an honorable response to an unjust and abusive power.

Last Thursday, General Electric presented its master plan for the remaining PCBs in Berkshire County, “The Corrective Measures Study,” which appears equally tainted; a self-serving fiat from a nearly departed entity, whose power and influence over this region at one time was without precedent. As GE pulls out of town, the impact of the remaining PCBs will outlast those, who at one time, might have spoken favorably about “The Company.”

The audience was treated to a numbing series of charts and graphs, a product of computer modeling and technical wizardry. As the laser pointer directed our attention to the differences between SED3 and SED8, it was hard to remember that the projections were really about living people and animals, about future generations, about PCBs’ impact on entire ecosystems and species, about how much sickness and how many deaths were acceptable.

One needed to remind oneself that it was not about providing us with the best cleanup and the best technology currently available. The unmentioned subtext is about maximizing GE’s profits.

Cost effectiveness is about trade-offs, about “bang for the buck,” about abstracting “acceptable risk” into a projected bar graph. Morality, responsibility, leadership, partnership within and obligations to a community; none of these concepts are accepted contributions to a bottom line. Hypothetical goals and outcomes, abstracted numbers plugged into a program, generating soothing, color-coordinated visualizations, representations of possibilities, as removed and distanced from real-world consequence as the laser-guided, un-manned missile is from the destruction, loss, pain and death experienced by those on the ground. No one asks the victims if the risk was acceptable.

The time to complete the various cleanup strategies ranged from zero to 51 years. Technologies that not only promise, but deliver the destruction of PCBs are dismissed as unproven, expensive and potentially subject to breakdown. And unfortunately, even the most ambitious GE-derived plan leaves us with fish that cannot be freely eaten and water that cannot be enjoyed at the table. Our resources depleted, our land and river unusable without severe restrictions, The Company has left town for cheaper labor and less regulated pastures. Has our complacency allowed this to be the acceptable byproduct of progress?

General Electric’s preferred plan for disposal of the soil; sweep it under a rug. Dig it up and bury it in nearby, newly created landfills. This would run smack into Mayor Ruberto’s recent published statement that “the landfill will not be in Pittsfield.” A man of integrity, I thank him for his advocacy of an alternative solution. Looking no further than Allendale, it is hard to imagine that Pittsfield or any other community would extend the welcome mat a second time.

Other GE suggestions: Dig it up and rebury it in the river. Seriously. No comment. Or dig it up and bury it in someone else’s backyard, far away from Pittsfield, perhaps in upstate New York or Texas. Aside from the moral issue (which have never been considered, or even recognized) of making our poison someone else’s problem, this solution’s transportation costs begin to get expensive.

How is it possible for The Company to present a proposal that takes 50 years to complete, yet does not take into consideration the speed of innovation, technological breakthrough and unanticipated invention? Minor changes in their study could produce major improvements in the outcome. For example: imagine a 50-year plan that allowed for flexibility and modification as innovation and discovery dictated. Imagine the results if, in 1920, a 50-year design plan had been accepted for a national highway system that did not incorporate flexibility. What a useless, costly failure it would have become had it not incorporated the initially unanticipated change in construction technology and materials, the creation and growth of population centers, the speed, size and design of future automobiles and trucks, etc.

The Company’s proposal is mired in the past, relying on the worst that precedent has to offer. All this from a company that reminds us as often as its advertising budget allows of its “Ecomagination.”

What is best for a corporation is not necessarily best for a community. Could this be a “Boston Tea Party Moment?” To paraphrase, “If we build a protest, will they come?”

Benno Friedman is a member of the board of the Housatonic River Initiative.

<http://www.berkshireeagle.com/otheropinions/ci_8770233#>

presents

*PCBs in the Housatonic River: *

*What Are The Human and Ecological Risks? *
*Join Dr. Peter deFur one of the world’s leading experts on health and ecological risks from PCBs. Housatonic fish, waterfowl and sediment have some of the highest levels of PCBs in the world. In 2008 the USEPA will issue another decision on whether GE has to clean more of the Housatonic River. *

* Why does everyone have PCBs in their bodies?
* Why do women have PCBs in their breast milk?
* What are PCBs doing to the wildlife?
* What is the Precautionary Principle?
* How persistent are PCBs in the food chain?
* Why are there still fish advisories in Massachusetts and Connecticut?

The free event will be held on *Wednesday, March 5th at 7 pm at the Lenox, Massachusetts Community Center* on Walker Street. For additional information contact: Tim Gray/HRI, 413-446-2520, housriverkeeper@verizon.net, or Judy Herkimer, HEAL, 860-672-6867, healct@snet.net <mailto:healct@snet.net>

*Dr. DeFur is the HRI technical advisor for the human health and ecological risk assessment fro the Housatonic River. He is chair of the Board of the Science and Environmental Health Network (SEHN), President of the Association for Science in the Public Interest, and recently completed a term on the National Research Council Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology (BEST). Dr. deFur is an Affiliate Associate Professor in the Center for Environmental Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. *

*Dr. deFur received Ph.D. in Biology (1980) from the University of Calgary, Alberta. He was a postdoctoral fellow in neurophysiology in the Department of Medicine at the University of Calgary. Dr. deFur held faculty positions at George Mason University and Southeastern Louisiana University before joining the staff of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) in Washington, DC. At EDF, deFur was involved in policy issues that include habitat preservation and quality, wetlands regulations, water quality analysis and risk assessment.
*

*Dr. Peter L. deFur* has extensive experience in ecological risk assessment regulations, guidance and policy. He is chair of the Board of the Science and Environmental Health Network (SEHN), President of the Association for Science in the Public Interest, and recently completed a term on the National Research Council Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology (BEST). He served on the NAS/NRC Risk Characterization Committee, completed numerous reviews of EPA ecological and human health risk assessments, and EPA’s Ecological Risk Assessment Guidelines. He also served on EPA’s Endocrine Disruptor Screening and Testing Advisory Committee (EDSTAC), and presently serves on the task force implementing EDSTAC recommendations.*

*Dr. deFur has participated in workshops on the Precautionary Principle and published book chapters and journal articles on the Principle. He is presently involved in several projects for SEHN on the Precautionary Principle.
He is on the Board of Directors of the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, and peer reviewer for several professional journals. He has published numerous peer reviewed articles, invited perspectives and review articles for the public on subjects ranging from habitat quality to wetlands, toxic chemical and risk assessment. *

*Dr. deFur has experience in the area of endocrine disrupting chemicals, specifically dioxin and related compounds and comparative endocrinology. During the past ten years, deFur has been extensively involved in scientific, regulatory and policy concerning the generation, release and discharge of dioxin related compounds. He has published a number of papers on regulation and policy aspects of these compounds, considered in many ways prototype endocrine disruptors. Dr. deFur has been extensively involved in the EPA reassessment of dioxin since 1991.*

This is a slide of the Housatonic flooding at sites that were under remediation. It also
shows a HRI member saving an EPA contractors equipment from going under.

The “rest of river” area has some of the highest PCB levels in sediment, fish, and waterfowl in the country!

PCBs are one of the most pervasive chemicals in the world’s food chain.

The EPA may be here to clean up only once at this point in history.

EPA has used landfilling at many sites as a final decision for disposal. In Pittsfield they are landfilling PCB next to an elementary school in a residential neighborhood. HRI believes this was a major failure in the first EPA decision . You don’t dump chemicals near children!

Treatment technologies exist to reduce PCB levels so as to minimize or not landfill at all. Any landfill must be only a temporary measure.

The Proposal for the Corrective Measures Study, public comments, EPA’s conditional approval letter and other “rest of river” reports can be viewed GE/Housatonic River Site in New England website.

TIME LINE

In March of this year the Actual Corrective Measures Study will be released for public comment.

• GE Submits CMS - March 21, 2008
• EPA Begins Informal Public Input Period - March 22, 2008
• Presentation of CMS - MA and CT - CCC Meetings- March 26 and 27, 2008

Form EPA Corrective Measures Fact Sheet

Evaluation of Cleanup Alternatives Underway for the GE/Housatonic River Site, Rest of River.

Under its legal agreement with EPA, General Electric is currently evaluating potential cleanup alternatives for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) released from the GE facility in Pittsfield, Massachusetts to the Housatonic River/Rest of River.

The Rest of River extends from the Confluence of the East and West Branches in Pittsfield to the Derby-Shelton Dam in Connecticut. Upon completion of the evaluation, GE will submit for EPA’s review and approval a Corrective Measures Study (CMS) documenting this work, including GE’s preferred cleanup plan. EPA will follow the process outlined in this Fact Sheet and make the final remedy selection decision.

This fact sheet summarizes the CMS process, the alternatives and technologies being evaluated, the evaluation criteria that will be used by EPA to select a cleanup plan, and the opportunities for public input to the process.Copies of the CMS Proposal and other Rest of River documents are available for public review on EPA’s website - www.epa.gov/ne/ge.

Download PDF: Corrective Measures Study (CMS) Process Fact Sheet Housatonic River “Rest of River, October 2007

Download PDF (new window): America’s ten Most Endangered Rivers.

On Nov. 17, 2006 HRI held A Symposium on Alternative Remedial Technologies to Destroy PCBs to begin a community discussion on better ways to handle PCBs

The decisions regarding the cleanup of the ”rest of the river” are imminent and will be finalized within the next year. We hope that this symposium established a framework and a base of information for future discussions, encouraging an honest appraisal of the following issues:

• Are there viable, effective and proven technologies for the remediation (destruction) of PCB’s?
• Are they appropriate for our river/region?
• What are the benefits and downsides of remediation vs. landfilling?

Presenters:
• Biogenesis…sediment washing and separation
• Upal Ghosh, University of Maryland, expert in reactive capping
  using activated carbon
• Startech…plasma arc
• Dr. Kevin Gardner, University of New Hampshire, in-situ, zero
  valent iron and magnesium, reactive capping
• Sonic Environmental Solutions…Terra-Kleen extraction process and non-thermal destruction
• Oil-Free Technology…enzyme based in-situ remediation

Event Co-Sponsors:

• Berkshire - Litchfield Environmental Council
• Clean Water Action, Massachusetts PIRG
• Massachusetts PIRG
• Toxics Action Center, Boston
• Orion Society
• Southern Berkshire Chamber Of Commerce
• Berkshire Natural Resources Council
• Center for Ecological Technology
• Berkshire Environmental Action Team
• Berkshire Environmental Research Center
• Housatonic Environmental Action League
• Waterkeeper Alliance
• Housatonic River Commission
• Northwest Conservation District
• Citizens for PCB Removal

HRI holds forum on Hill 78 /Hill 71

DPH says no PCBs on air filters yet filters given to an independent lab test positive

On Monday Dec. 12 The Housatonic River Initiative held a forum on PCBs and Your Health. Over 120 people attended the event at the Pittsfield Athenaeum. Dr. David Carpenter presented results of his recently published study of hazardous waste sites in New York State. He also discussed results of air filters HRI obtained from the intakes at the controversial Allendale Elementary School.

The growing mound of PCBs at General Electric’s high level dumps known as “hill 78″ and “area 71″ has teachers and neighbors very upset. They maintain that dust blowing off of the dumpsite has been blowing around students during playground sessions and coating the insides of their homes and cars. These concerns as well as concerns of inadequate monitoring has pushed the EPA, Mass. DEP, and the Mass. Department of Public Health into further testing.

The controversy has arisen as the DPH inside air testing of the filters showed no detectable levels of PCBs. The filters HRI took to the state of the art PCB lab at the State University of New York showed opposite results. Dr.David Carpenter has run this lab for years. Both filters tested at SUNY had levels of PCBs at .12 Parts pr million and .14 parts per million. It is well known that congener specific testing for PCBs is much more sophisticated than the method the DPH’s contracted lab was able to perform. Congener testing is more costly. A new meeting is scheduled on January 5th at the Berkshire Athenaeum at 5:30 to discuss the results.

In a moment of transparency the DPH, the city, the school administration, teachers, school employees, and HRI agreed to save the next batch of filters and to split samples. All of the filters were removed secretly from the school the weekend they were supposed to be shared for sampling. The school administration and the city leaders declared it was a mistake! The state Department of Public health has never offered to shared the filters with the public since. So much for transparency!

about Dr. David Carpenter

Dr. David Carpenter is an internationally recognized expert in PCBs and public health. He is a neurotoxicologist and professor in the Department of Environmental Health and Toxicology in the School of Public Health at State University of New York, Albany. He has worked successfully with many communities across the country to help them assess the degree of human exposure to a range of contaminants, including vast experience with PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls).

Dr. Carpenter has been an editorial advisor to many scientific journals, hosted a 170 station syndicated Public Health Radio Show, and former Chair of the School of Public Health at SUNY Albany. Prior to joining the University at Albany, Dr. Carpenter was a Research Physician at the Wadsworth Center for Laboratories and Research. Dr. Carpenter received his M.D. at the Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. He has 220 publications, 37 reviews and book chapters and 12 other publications to his credit.

“how can city leaders allow two large toxic dumps next to an elementary school?” - Dr. Lois Gibbs

Lois Gibbs, known as the mother of Love Canal and founder and executive director of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ) also spoke. She has been at the forefront of the environmental movement in the United States for over two decades. Her organization is currently conducting a “Be Safe” in schools campaign. In 1978 Gibbs, a housewife with two young children, became concerned about reports of chemical waste in her neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York.

She wondered if her children’s unusual health problems and those of her neighbors were connected to their exposure to leaking chemical waste. Gibbs later discovered that her neighborhood sat on top of 21,000 tons of buried chemical waste, the now infamous Love Canal. She is the recipient of an honorary Doctorate from SUNY at Cortland, New York, the 1990 Goldman Environmental Prize, the 1998 Heinz Award, and the 1999 John Gardner Leadership Award from Independent Sector. The evening was Co-sponsored by the Berkshire Environmental Action Team and the Housatonic Environmental Action League.

more about Hill 78

To learn about Hill 78:

read our Summer 1999 newsletter

and also go to our photo gallery

and look at the Allendale section.