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Environmental Protection Agency PCB related News (Click on topic below)

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PCB exposure increases risk of behavioral disturbances

Sagiv and associates at the Harvard School of Public Health have published a seminal paper supporting a connection between low level prenatal exposure to PCBs and other organochlorines and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) like behavior in childhood. These results are published in the American Journal of Epidemiology (Prenatal Organochlorine Exposure and Behaviors Associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in School-Aged Children, 2010; 171; pp. 593-601)

It is noted that PCB is able to readily cross the placenta, and as such poses a risk to the developing fetus. The evaluation consisted of prospectively studying a group of 607 children ages 7-11 years born in 1993-1998 to mothers residing near a PCB contaminated harbor in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The assessment of PCB exposure was made by measuring umbilical cord levels of the sum of 4 prevalent PCB cogeners and then determining performance using the Conners’ Rating Scale for Teachers (CRS-T) as a marker for behavioral performance The umbilical cord blood was collected at birth, stored and then analyzed subsequently at the Harvard School of Public Health Organic Chemistry Laboratory. The mother infant pairs were eligible if the mother was more than 18 years of age, lived in the towns of New Bedford, Acushnet, Fairhaven or Dartmouth during the duration of the pregnancy and spoke either English or Portuguese. In Southeastern Massachusetts Portuguese is the most common language spoken after English due to regional patterns of immigration.

ADHD is the most common childhood neurobehavioral disorder, which is felt to impact on as many as 5-10% of the pediatric population. Because the cause of ADHD is not well understood, being able to substantiate that it may be due to an environmental neurotoxin is a major step forward in public health prevention.

In this analysis, there was a strong correlation between prenatal PCB exposure and increases in both inattention and impulsive behavior.

This is a compelling argument for further PCB removal. Currently, a major emphasis has been placed in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the removal of PCBs from toxic sites as well as school buildings.   More

New Canadian PCB regulations to be enforced beginning 12/31/2009

Bio Degradation 

 

News Articles

The other PCBs - Times Union - July 11, 2010

Last year had New York celebrating the 400th anniversaries of Samuel de Champlain's exploration of the lake that bears his name and Henry Hudson's voyage along the river that bears his. The occasions were able to play down the fact that the connection between those great waterways has seen decidedly better times. More

UMass races to complete PCB cleanup - Berkshire Eagle - July 9, 2010

AMHERST, Mass. (AP) -- The University of Massachusetts at Amherst is scrambling to complete the removal of contaminants from the school's largest student housing area in time for the start of fall classes. PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, were discovered in the concrete and caulking of the concourse at the Southwest Residential Area during renovations in the spring. More

PCB cleanup extension sought - State agency wants Champlain Canal channel dredged Times Union - July 5, 2010

ALBANY -- Sometime after PCB dredges hit the Hudson River again next spring, officials at the state Canal Corp. hope to be part of the cleanup. But for now, most of the PCB-silted Champlain Canal navigation channel in the river between Fort Edward and Troy is outside the 2002 federal plan with General Electric Co., something Canal Corp. Executive Director Carmella Mantello tells anyone willing to listen.  More

Appeals Court Rejects GE Challenge to Superfund Law - Wall Street Journal - June 30, 2010

A federal appeals court Tuesday rejected General Electric Co.'s constitutional challenge to part of the federal Superfund law that gives the Environmental Protection Agency the power to order companies to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous waste. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled unanimously that the Superfund law didn't violate GE's constitutional due-process rights. GE, which has been subject to several cleanup orders, had argued that the law violated companies' constitutional rights because they have no meaningful opportunity to contest the EPA's cleanup orders before they are issued. GE also argued that companies' have little choice but to comply with a cleanup order because the potential financial costs of noncompliance are very high. More

Don’t Eat Fish from the Portland Harbor - The Portlander - May 24, 2010

A new assessment shows that while eating certain types of fish from the Portland Harbor area continues to be a serious health threat, the recreational use of the Willamette River does not pose a health risk. Oregon Public Health released a health assessment today that reviews data from hundreds of environmental samples collected from water, fish, soil and river bottom sediment in the Portland Harbor Superfund Site study area. These data were used to assess the health risks for people who use the harbor area recreationally. Under federal law, the Environmental Health Assessment Program (EHAP) is required to assess and report on health risks associated with superfund sites.  More

Experts still trying to figure out the toxic footprint at Parker Street Waste Site - South Coast Today - May 23, 2010

The problem with cleaning up the Parker Street Waste Site is that no one really knows where its exact boundaries are located. Old aerial photos show evidence of where much of the Parker Street dump was once located — between the 1930s and 1960s — but the boundaries are irregular and may have moved over time as dumping ebbed and flowed. Even though the largest parts of the present 104-acre Parker Street site have already been tested, and some of it remediated, significant testing, and possibly remediation, remains to be done. Testing of the perimeter areas begun at the end of April is being conducted according to the Environmental Protection Agency's "Sampling and Analysis Plan." The plan was developed over the past year with the cooperation of the city of New Bedford, the state Department of Environmental Protection, and a scientist (licensed site professional) who represents the local activist group CLEAN (Citizens Leading Environmental Action Network). More

Great Lakes Legacy Act Ottawa River Cleanup Has Begun - EPA - May 20, 2010

The Ottawa River Group and the state of Ohio have begun dredging 240,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from a 5.5-mile section of the Ottawa River in Toledo, Ohio. The first phase of the project – removing 10,000 cubic yards of sediment from Sibley Creek – was completed in April. The $49 million cost of the total project will be split between EPA, using Great Lakes Legacy Act funds, and the Ottawa River Group.  More

Toxic Legacy: A long process from approval and construction to remediation - Southcoasttoday.com - May 16, 2010

On Feb. 12, 2001, the New Bedford School Committee voted to build the new Keith Middle School on the Andre McCoy Soccer Field, setting off a now nine-year long construction and environmental remediation process. During that time, the estimated cost — 90 percent of which will be paid by the state of Massachusetts — increased from $42 million to a one-time estimate as high as $103.6 million (more recently, the city estimates the costs could end up in the low ninety-millions, exclusive of a planned $4.5 million field house at the site.)  More

Toxic timebomb! State sues chem company for PCBs under Red Hook Park - Courier-Life Publications - May 12, 2010

'Unacceptable' PCBs under Red Hook Park - State authorities have discovered “unacceptable” levels of cancer-causing chemicals near Red Hook Park — and the villain is the same company recently fingered by the feds for fouling the Gowanus Canal. The levels of PCBs in the groundwater under the park near Court and Bay streets are a whopping 110 times higher than environmental agencies consider safe, according to a lawsuit against Connecticut-based Chemtura Corp., which operated a chemical plant at the dirty end of Court Street for four decades.  More

Danger seen in PCB canal pollution - Free Press - May 10, 2010

A Wayne State University professor says sludge samples taken from canals in St. Clair Shores show dangerous levels of PCB pollution. He was to present his findings about the Lange and Revere waterways Tuesday to the Macomb County Health Department. Ed Van Hees, assistant professor of geology, said his samples taken in February, late March and early April found PCB levels ranging from 126 parts per million (ppm), to 700 ppm. That's well below the 825,000 ppm the Environmental Protection Agency found in November, but well above the danger range. Federal guidelines consider findings of 50 ppm to designate an area a hazardous-waste site.
PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, are industrial compounds banned in the 1970s after they were found to cause cancer. More

Brooklyn Park Poses Health Risk as Chemtura Fights PCB Cleanup - Business Week - May 7, 2010

The grassy fields of a park in the gentrifying Red Hook section of Brooklyn are contaminated with PCBs at a level 110 times what New York environmental agencies consider safe, according to court records filed in a lawsuit against bankrupt Chemtura Corp.  Linked to liver cancer, low birth-weight and loss of motor skills, PCBs pose a threat to park visitors and nearby residents, said Judith Schreiber, chief scientist in the state attorney general’s environmental bureau. State and city health and environmental agencies declined to comment or said they aren’t aware of the risks at the 58-acre park, a popular spot for soccer games and family picnics. Chemtura has resisted demands by the state environmental bureau that it clean up contamination from a leak at its plant, which abuts the park. More

GE, EPA debate over PCBs roils waters - Timesunion.com - May 7, 2010

Some black humor born of frustration summed up the mood at the end of three days of hearings Thursday on the future of PCB dredging of the Hudson River. A seven-member panel of environmental engineers had spent hours listening to officials from General Electric Co. and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency present vastly different conclusions on lessons learned from the first year of dredging around Fort Edward, and suggestions for how the project should change before it resumes in 2011. GE believes so many PCBs were stirred up and moved downriver that future dredging ought to be scaled back, and PCBs left behind in the river covered over. EPA counters that GE is using one-sided data of questionable reliability, that PCB levels released by dredging were never dangerous and future dredging can be improved to reduce PCBs escaping into the river. More

USA: EPA and GE have different pictures of how Hudson River Dredging Should Proceed - Dredging Today Courier-Life Publications - May 6, 2010

“I don’t see a reason to limit the project to five years,” said panel Chairman Paul Fuglevand, a private engineer from Washington State. “Making it longer might provide a benefit in the long term.” Several other panelists echoed the opinion, saying the original schedule agreed to in a 2002 cleanup pact by General Electric Co. and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could force such a work pace that it would be practically impossible to avoid spreading too many stirred-up PCBs downriver. Panelist Richard Fox, a private engineer from Wisconsin, agreed that there was no need to stick to the five-year blueprint. Panelists also said that findings last year that PCBs were more prevalent than expected show that more river bottom tests need to be done before dredging resumes so work can be better targeted. The seven-member panel, which concludes its hearings today at the Queensbury Hotel, appeared unanimous the project could not continue as designed.  More

Scientists study results of NY's Hudson dredging - Business Week - May 4, 2010

A panel of scientists evaluating Hudson River dredging on Tuesday heard clashing ideas from General Electric Co. and federal regulators on the best way to continue the massive cleanup. The panel is studying results of last year's test dredging at PCB "hot spots" on the river about 40 miles north of Albany. The panel will make recommendations this summer for the second phase of the dredging, a project that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants to start next year.  More

APNewsBreak: GE says Hudson dredging cost $561M - Associated Press - April 30, 2010

ALBANY, N.Y. — General Electric Co. estimated the first phase of its PCB dredging project on the Hudson River cost $561 million, providing first-time cost details of the massive cleanup. The company provided the planning and performance cost estimate to a panel of experts reviewing the project in response to a request from the panel. The information obtained by The Associated Press on Friday includes money spent in the years leading up to last year's PCB dredging. Fairfield, Conn.-based GE reported that the largest chunk of money, $228 million, was spent on dredging, transporting and disposing sediment. Another $130 million was spent to buy equipment and build facilities, including a sprawling plant to treat the contaminated riverbed mud near the dredge site 40 miles north of Albany. More

Ag Company To Pay $5 Million for PCB Cleanup Near Lewistown Tools - KFBB - April 26, 2010

A St. Louis company has agreed to pay $5 million to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks to settle a dispute over PCB contamination near Lewistown. This, after a jury trial had been underway in Fergus County court. Now, FWP as well as the Monsanto Company are reacting to this multi-million dollar settlement. More

GOED Tackles Recent Omega 3 Issues - Nutrition World - April 1, 2010

A lawsuit filed in California claims that 10 types of fish oil supplements tested recently contain polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), a toxic industrial compound, and that manufacturers and sellers need to warn consumers under the state’s Proposition 65 law. Following news of the lawsuit, industry groups attempted to reassure the public, defending the safety of fish oil products in general. According to Nutrition Business Journal, U.S. consumer sales of fish and animal oil dietary supplements totaled $739 million, representing 18% growth in 2008. More

Feds must justify Allied landfill-cleanup settlement: Kalamazoo River Watershed Council calling for public meeting, more funding - Kalamazoo News - April 8, 2010

Kalamazoo River advocates want federal officials to come to Kalamazoo and explain how they determined $53.7 million was enough to clean up the Allied landfill. The Kalamazoo River Watershed Council says more funding is needed to rid the 80-acre landfill of material contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs.  More

EPA's Phase 1 Evaluation Report - Hudson River Drudging EPA

On March 8, 2010, EPA and General Electric Company (GE) released the final version of their respective Phase 1 Evaluation Reports for the Hudson River dredging project. EPA will accept public comment on the reports until April 22, 2010 submit a comment. These reports replace draft versions of the reports exchanged in mid-January, pursuant to the Consent Decree under which GE performed Phase 1 of the dredging. GE's Phase 1 Evaluation Report is available at www.hudsondredging.comMore Info

Study Measures Levels of PCBs Flowing from Indiana Canal to Air and Water Science Daily, Feb. 24, 2010

A University of Iowa study supports an earlier UI report that found polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in sediments lining the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal (IHSC) in East Chicago, Ind. The study also presents data showing that the sediments are a significant source of PCBs found in surrounding air and in Lake Michigan.  More

USA: Get it done efficiently, but do it in 5 years (Hudson River) - Dredging Today, Feb. 19, 2010

Officials from the Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric Co. — the company paying for the cleanup — went through a litany of problems faced in the first year of the project, which wrapped up in December. While they differed on both the statistics of dredging PCBs and the corrective measures, presentations concluded that the cleanup will be finished in five years.  More

State says GE's PCB cleanup 'off to a good start' - LoHud.com, Feb. 18, 2010

The first year of General Electric's cleanup of PCBs in the Hudson River got a thumbs-up Wednesday from state environmental regulators, albeit with a couple of caveats.

GE, EPA note higher PCB levels in Hudson dredging 1/21/2010

The use of the Hudson River estuary has not proven to be an effective repository for the decomposition of polychlorinated biphenyls. Although manufacture of these products was terminated more than 30 years ago the breakdown of these synthetic compounds continues to be elusive.

This is not a condition where the manufacturer can rub the dust under the carpet. The biological consequences and implications for our society have gone on for decades. What is all the more tragic is that cost effective solutions for the removal of PCB compounds are available, simple to administer and can proceed quickly if the resolve is there. For many PCB discharges we remain confident that purification procedures using activated alumina remains the most cost effective solution.

Gary Witman, MD
January 21, 2010

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Hudson River dredging released almost 25 times more PCBs into the water than expected, General Electric said Thursday in calling for changes in performance standards before the massive Superfund cleanup resumes.

GE and the federal Environmental Protection Agency each released draft evaluations Thursday of last year's dredging of PCB "hot spots" north of Albany. The dredging was a test run for the far larger Phase 2 of the cleanup, which regulators want to start in 2011. The second phase of dredging would represent about 90 percent of the cleanup and could take five years. More

PCB lawsuit dismissal unlikely to hurt Fox River cleanup efforts - The Green Bay Gazette - 12/28/2009

Fragile Labrador ecosystem overcomes a toxic past - The Globe and Mail - December 21, 2009

After cleanup in late 1990s, PCB levels in Arctic wildlife in the Saglek Bay area dropped dramatically More

Dredging reaches a decisive moment - Poststar.com 12/12/2009

Dredging on the Hudson River will take a break in 2010. But the effort to study the effectiveness of the complicated cleanup could prove to be as contentious and complex as the $780 million project itself. After years of delays, lawsuit and protests, the project to remove PCB-tainted sediment began with much fanfare on May 15.  More

Despite cleanup, PCBs on rise  - FreePress 12/9/2009

Effectiveness of Hudson River dredging called into question - The Saratogian - 11/13/2009

Hudson Dredging Season Nears End - The Record - 10/4/2009

Dredging of PCBs from the Hudson River is beginning to wrap up for the season. When Lock 7 closes in early November, barges filled with sediment will no longer be able to travel to the dewatering facility along the Champlain Canal. Approximately 240,000 cubic yards of sediment have been removed from the river since dredging began in May. Most of the sediment was removed from several areas in the eastern and northwestern channels of Rogers Island and two areas in the eastern channel of Griffin Island.  More

GE and EPA Wrapping Up Phase 1 of PCB Removal - Eco Politics Daily - New York League of Conservation Voters - 10/14/2009

The dredging of the upper Hudson River, phase one of which began in May, is wrapping up this month, and while the federal Superfund project proved complex and costly, regulators agree the results are mainly positive. The dredged PCB waste is condensed into a filter cake, which is then shipped to Texas for permanent disposal. Phase two, which is slated to begin in 2011, could push the total project price tag to upwards of $700 million, and whether the General Electric Company will pay for that leg of the cleanup is yet unknown. More

PCB risk feared at older N.E. schools - Boston Globe - 9/6/2009

The New England office of the Environmental Protection Agency has acknowledged the magnitude of the PCB problem in building construction from the period between 1930 and the late 1970s. Window, brick and masonry caulking deteriorates and then can fall to the ground, dust windowsills and infiltrate ventilation systems. While the recommended guidelines of exposure should not exceed 50 parts per billion, in some buildings the pcb level in caulking exceeds 200,000 parts per billion. Considerations include removal of all caulking and to encapsulate PCB contaminated masonry. More

G.E. Resumes Hudson Dredging, With Limits by E.P.A. - New York Times - 8/11/2009 - Hudson River Dredging Project Portal (GE)

Diaz to Seek Tests of Schools’ Caulking for PCBsBronz Daily News -6/23/2009

Answers About Dredging in the Hudson, Part 3The New York Times -6/19/2009

More PCBs removed from New Harbour dumpsiteThe Compass -6/16/2009

District raises concerns about school sitethe Almanac -6/16/2009

Get Savvy about fish oil you’re swallowingNews-Sentinel -6/22/2009

Fear-mongering’ and swimming in the Hudson RiverGlens Falls Post -5/28/2009

Cleanup work at Spokane site includes building demolitionDepartment of Ecology News Release -6/5/2009

Pushing to be Free in School from PCBsCity Limits Weekly -6/22/2009

Answers About Dredging in the Hudson –New York Times -6/17/2009

New Urgency in the Need for PCB Removal Based on Important New Biological Information Regarding how these compounds impact on the human brain and behavior - June, 2009

How PCBs May Hurt the Brain (New Studies Shed Light on Exposure to Environmental Toxin and Development of Brain Cells) - MedicineNet - April 13, 2009

Dredging of Pollutants Begins in Hudson - New York Times - 5/15/2009

Fox River Cleanup PowerPoint Presentation

Costs for PCB cleanup skyrocket, keep rising - GreenBay PressGazette.com - April 5, 2009

A New Kind of PCB - The World in Green

Plans to remove east-end PCBs outlined - London Free Press - 2/20/2009

DESTRUCTION AND DECONTAMINATION TECHNOLOGIES FROM PCBs AND OTHER POPs WASTES
UNDER THE BASEL CONVENTION A Training Manual for Hazardous Waste Project Managers
- Secretariat of the Basel Convention

Destruction and Removal of PCBs in Waste Transformer Oil by a Chemical Dechlorination Process - Dept. of Applied Chemistry, Andong National University

SECTION TABLE OF CONTENTS - DIVISION 02 - EXISTING CONDITIONS
SECTION 02 61 23 - REMOVAL AND DISPOSAL OF PCB CONTAMINATED SOILS
- United Facilities Guide Specifications

Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Manufacturing (Import) Exemption - EPA Federal Registry Entry

Management of Polychlorinated Biphenyls [PCBs] Policy - Chemical Control Centre, University of Windsor

MLGW to Pay $1.2 Million Fine for PCB Violations - Occupational Health & Safety - 11/11/2008

Understanding the new federal (Canadian) requirements for PCB destruction HazMat Management - Winter 2009

Ontario's environment ministry guarantees no risk during PCB removal - London Topic.ca -5/10/2008

The PCB Waste Export Regulations, 1996 (PCBWER) allow Canadian owners of PCB waste to export such wastes to the United States for treatment and destruction (excluding landfilling) when these wastes are in concentrations equal to or greater than 50 parts per million.

The Regulations require that advance notice of proposed export shipments be given to Environment Canada. If the PCB waste shipment complies with the Regulations for the protection of human health and the environment, and authorities in any countries or provinces through which the waste will transit do not object to the shipment, a permit is sent from Environment Canada to the applicant authorizing the shipment to proceed.

EPA toxic pollution report for Ohio, nation shows mercury, PCB The Plain Dealer - March 19, 2009

Ideas sought for Canton Airport site The Patriot Ledger - ‎Mar 18, 2009

Legislators to attend Canton airport hearing Canton Journal - March 17, 2009

Housatonic Cleanup Public can weigh in on revised GE plan Berkshire Eagle - March 17, 2009

Cleanup conundrum Berkshire Eagle - March 12, 2009

Yadkin Riverkeeper Calls On Public To Support Governor Perdue dBusinessNews Triad - March 9, 2009

Environmental issues take center stage in Kalamazoo (PCB Cleanup) WWMT - March 9, 2009

Grand County building remodel will cost more than planned Sky Hi Daily News - March 8, 2009

Canal Corporation site up for PCB cap Albany Times Union - March 6, 2009

Next round of PCB cleanup funding coming Berkshire Eagle - March 6, 2009

Meeting on creek cleanup to be held tomorrow Oxford Press - March 4, 2009

Noxon Dam oil spill being cleaned Montana's News Station - March 2, 2009

Obama proposes to reinstate Superfund tax for cleanup Scarlet Scuttlebutt - March 1, 2009

Bankruptcy brings cleanup of Kalamazoo River nearly to a halt Kalamazoo Gazette, MLive.com - February 26, 2009

EPA sued over water supply Albany Times Union - February 25, 2009

News Minute: Here is the latest New York news from The Associated Press - Suit over PCB dredging project WCAX - February 25, 2009

Public meeting slated to air PCB cleanup concerns  Independent Weekly - February 25, 2009

Shipments of Sludge Headed to West Texas NewsWest9.com - February 24, 2009

AG’s office outlines Hudson River environmental watchdog role Mid-Hudson News - February 24, 2009


 


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