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New Canadian PCB
regulations to be enforced beginning 12/31/2009
Bio Degradation
News Articles
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.
"This critically important — and historic —
cleanup is off to a good start," said Pete Grannis, head of the
state's Department of Environmental Conservation. "A significant
amount of contaminated material was removed and important data
was generated to help make adjustments as the project moves
forward."
More
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
Companies funding the PCB cleanup in the Fox
River said they don't expect any disruption of the project
following a judge's action dismissing a lawsuit that sought to
clarify who must pay. Representatives for Appleton Papers Inc.,
NCR Corp. and Georgia-Pacific Corp. all signaled that they will
follow through with the cleanup despite uncertainty about who
ultimately is footing the bill. "Our commitment remains the
same," Georgia-Pacific spokesman Mary Jo Malach said.
More
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
Despite a $10-million cleanup of PCB
contamination in St. Clair Shores, new tests show
higher-than-ever levels of the chemical in a drain and several
canals. After PCBs were discovered in 2001 in the Ten Mile drain
and Lange-Revere canals, the Environmental Protection Agency did
a major cleanup to a level the agency said was safe: 10 parts
per million. The latest results show 820,000 parts per million
in the drain, higher than any PCB count ever found there. That's
82% pure PCBs, said Edmond van Hees, a geology professor at
Wayne State University who has studied the drains and canals to
see where contamination might be coming from.
More
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 PCBs –Bronz
Daily News -6/23/2009
Critics: Burial site for Hudson PCBs is inadequate –The
Associated Press -6/21/2009
Answers About Dredging in the Hudson, Part 3 –The
New York Times -6/19/2009
More
PCBs removed from New Harbour dumpsite –The
Compass -6/16/2009
District raises concerns about school site –the
Almanac -6/16/2009
Get Savvy about fish oil you’re swallowing –News-Sentinel
-6/22/2009
‘Fear-mongering’
and swimming in the Hudson River –Glens
Falls Post -5/28/2009
Cleanup work at Spokane site includes building demolition –Department
of Ecology News Release -6/5/2009
Pushing to be Free in School from PCBs –City
Limits Weekly -6/22/2009
PCB cleanup needs to move forward –The
Greenville News Editorial -6/19/2009
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
Mills float proposals for PCB removal -
Green Bay Press Gazzette - 3/29/2009
BPA
Completes Removal of PCB Capacitors -
Associated Construction Publications -
1/19/2009
SECTION TABLE OF CONTENTS - DIVISION 02 - EXISTING CONDITIONS
SECTION 02 61 23 - REMOVAL AND DISPOSAL OF PCB CONTAMINATED
SOILS - United Facilities Guide
Specifications
PART 761—POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS
(PCBs) MANUFACTURING, PROCESSING,
DISTRIBUTION IN COMMERCE, AND USE
PROHIBITIONS Subpart K—PCB Waste
Disposal Records and Reports -
GPO Electronic
Code of Federal Regulations
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.
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