Saturday, June 28, 2008

DREDGING THE HUDSON RIVER






Dredging the Hudson River is finally going to happen.

The tons of PCBs that wash over the Federal Dam every year pose a developmental threat to humans while in the womb as well as all the wildlife that thrives in the river and those who harvest from the river.

I have been a continued supporter of the EPA and their efforts to clean up the Hudson. I always thought that whether they knew the danger of the disposed elements or not, GE is responsible for cleaning it up, and to our surprise, the courts agreed.

Now the PCB dredging project on the upper Hudson River looks ready to launch.General Electric hired marine contractors in Fort Edward to build a bulkhead for barges and a huge building to squeeze dry polluted river mud.


A rail yard is being built with nearly seven miles of track for shipping out the waste.Handling the PCB-contaminated river mud will begin next spring.


It’s hard to believe it has been years since the issue first surfaced here in the Hudson Valley. We experienced decades of plans, lawsuits, negotiations, delays and demonstrations, yet here we are, 2008, finalizing the deal.

This wont be a quick fix, mind you. Plan on 5 or 6 years of scraping away nearly 500 acres of river. With several “hot spots” located close to Kingston Point Beach, we are sure to witness the barges as they carry out their ecological mission.

There is no other way to eliminate the PCB embedded silt at the bottom of the river. PCBs don’t break down naturally and have been found in silt samples miles beyond the river’s opening off Manhattan. Still there after being banned from use since 1977.

My gratitude goes off to the diligent work of ClearWater who never wavered on this challenge to hold GE accountable and get the job done.

Clearwater Presents: The Hudson River PCB Story

This document is dated, but still on target:
Facts About Dredging Hudson River PCBs

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Its a huge undertaking, but I must be done. Humans, in their quest to conquer nature, have done more to destroy natural habitats across the world.
When will we learn that what we do, has permanent consequenses?

The dredging should have been done so many years ago, but of course GE and their partners in crime, delayed what they could. I sure their researchers knew that PCBs were toxic long before they were banned. And yet it was the almighty dollar that mattered most.

Thank you Clearwater.

Anonymous said...

Who cares about Humans in the womb? A progressive such as yourself should see the nonsense in that statement. The unborn have absolutely no rights, correct?

Mike Madsen said...

hey 1:54, am I to interpret your omments as you are pro-deformity? What good would that do? Just kidding.
If you have a hang-up about zygotes, take that to the religeous blogs.
We are discovering sources of some enduring terminal diseases where most are linked to chemical compounds from decades past.
Youre worried about Zygotes.