By Dave Lucas
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-855292.mp3
Moreau, NY – Mention PCB's and most people think of Dredging on the Hudson. But as we hear in this report from Capital District Bureau Chief Dave Lucas, the toxic chemical is NOT just in the River
For years, PCB-laden oil was often used for dust-control, sprayed on roads and parking lots. The manager of a now-defunct North Country paving company told authorties in 2002 that his firm used PCB waste-oil from GE's Fort Edward capacitor manufacturing plant in a 50/50 mix that was sprayed on road surfaces throughout Warren, Washington and Saratoga counties. Long-lasting contaminants like PCBs build up in the human body over time.
There's an ongoing investigation in the twon of Moreau involving a PCB-sprayed parking lot at the Tee-Bird Country Club on Reservoir Road. DEC Engineers claim the site has deteriorated and the agency wants to ensure seasonal work like plowing won't result in additional contamination. As part of that that probe, the club is working with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York State Department of Health: Soil, groundwater and sediment will be sampled as part of a site investigation scheduled to begin this week to evaluate the nature and extent of PCB contamination. Department of Health spokeswoman Claire Pospisil told the Glens-Falls Post-Star that the agency has been aware of the PCBs at Tee-Bird North parking lot for several years, and it is not a major cause for concern. She declined to go on tape for this story.
From approximately 1947 to 1977, the General Electric Company discharged as much as 1.3 million pounds of PCBs from its capacitor manufacturing plants at the Hudson Falls and Fort Edward facilities into the Hudson River. The public is well-aware of the dangers involving PCBs and the Hudson River Dredging Project is being closely scrutinized. A GE spokesman says that despite minor setbacks, the project will gon on.
US ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY Hudson River PCBs WEBSITE