20 years into Superfund cleanup, advocates say Hudson River is still too toxic

A federal cleanup of the Hudson River is not meeting its targets for reducing toxic chemicals in the waterway, environmental advocates say.

The criticism from a coalition of environmental groups this week highlighted a growing conflict with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over the decades of work to remove PCBs — known as polychlorinated biphenyls or forever chemicals — from 40 miles of the upper Hudson stretching from Hudson Falls to Troy. Two General Electric manufacturing plants dumped 1.3 million pounds of the chemicals into the Hudson over three decades, ending in 1977. The corporate giant covered the cost of removing contaminated riverbed between 2002 and 2015.

The EPA said on Wednesday that it needed another year of research to determine how effective the cleanup of the Hudson had been. But the coalition of environmental groups said newly released EPA data made clear that an unacceptable level of PCBs remained in the water.

“We're extremely frustrated that EPA has yet again failed to recognize that the cleanup efforts in the upper Hudson River just have not sufficiently protected human health and the environment,” said Drew Gamils, an attorney for the nonprofit organization Riverkeeper. “Yet EPA is deferring rendering a … determination.”

An assessment of contamination in the lower Hudson, which stretches 160 miles from Troy to Manhattan's Battery Park, just began last year, with analysis of water and river sediment. That process is ongoing and distinct from the review of data from the upper Hudson.

PCBs were used as coolants, lubricants and insulators in electronics for decades because of their resistance to high temperatures. The chemicals are toxic, especially when dumped in waterways. PCBs accumulate in animals' fatty tissue and multiply in quantity as they move up the food chain, potentially to humans. They're the reason children and pregnant women are warned against consuming anything from the Hudson River.

Data on the health of fish and samples from river sediment is regularly released through the Superfund cleanup of the river. Riverkeeper said fish monitoring data from the last seven years shows that life in the river has not bounced back. Average PCB levels in fish were 0.71 mg/kg in 2021, well in excess of the 2020 target of 0.4 mg/kg. The ultimate goal for the protection of human health is 0.05 mg/kg.

“One more year of data is not going to tell a different story,” Gamils said. “The story is already laid out there that PCB concentrations have plateaued and are not declining.”

Advocates noted that the original cleanup plan expected a 7% to 9% drop in PCB levels. The EPA now expects a 5% decline.

Gamils said it’s clear that dredging did not remove all the chemicals.

In its five-year report released on Wednesday, the EPA said it needed more data.

“The EPA’s review concludes that PCB levels in water and fish are going down overall, but the EPA needs more years of fish data to determine if the cleanup is meeting the expectations of the original cleanup plan,” the agency said in a release.

But Riverkeeper says the EPA should not delay a “not-protective determination,” which would be the first step toward an acknowledgment that the upper Hudson River's cleanup is not working. That would open the door to considering other chemical removal options. The EPA did not respond to an inquiry about what other cleanup methods are available if past efforts are deemed insufficient.

“The conclusion for the need for more study and data collection does not mean the EPA will wait another five years to decide,” EPA Regional Administrator Lisa Garcia said at a press conference on Wednesday. “Soon we’ll have more data that we can assess and evaluate and review.”

When humans are exposed to forever chemicals, they can increase the risk of cancer and damage most bodily functions such as immune and reproductive systems. The risk is especially high for women because elevated levels of PCBs can raise the risk of miscarriage and interfere with menstruation and menopause.

The EPA’s safe level of PCBs for drinking water is zero, but the maximum allowable level is 0.0005 parts per million. Levels as high as 1,650 parts per million are found in the Hudson's riverbed, according to an EPA fact sheet from 2016.

The EPA is seeking comments from the public until Oct. 8. A virtual public meeting is scheduled for Aug. 21 at 6 p.m..