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Cleaning up Hudson River Pcbs Project Brochure

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Cleaning up Hudson River Pcbs Project Brochure Thursday,May19,201111:50:38AM G:\002200-002299\002260\HR07_02_03\Graphics\Trifold\CleaningupHudsonTrifold-April2011.cdr R O P T E L C A T T fEngineers of I N O CsSPRUDSITE SITE SUPERFUND SUPERFUND PCBs PCBs ® E N SAm Corps Army US M A Hudson Hudson River River N G O E R I N V C N Y E U S N E I T T E A D T S 020H0.20-laigu usnTrifold.cdr-4/18/11-GRA Hudson up 002260.HR07.02.03-Cleaning 58 9-07 r olfe 88 596-3655 (888) toll-free or, 792-4087, (518) rdigifrainpoeline: phone information dredging rjc,cl eea lcrcs24-hour Electric's General call project, oakqetoso oc ocrsaotthe about concerns voice or questions ask To or yappointment. by hours rdy :0am o43 .. ihevening with p.m., 4:30 to a.m. 8:00 Friday, h il fiehusaeMna through Monday are hours Office Field The [email protected] 58 4-39o 86 1-40Toll-Free 615-6490 (866) or 747-4389 (518) usnFls Y12839 NY Falls, Hudson 2 oe anStreet Main Lower 421 eilpooo h usnRvradisfloodplain its and River Hudson the of photo Aerial usnRvrFedOffice Field River Hudson Coordinator aiaRomanowski, Larisa omnt Involvement Community Floodplain P Contact: EPA River pig2011 Spring www.epa.gov/hudson Floodplain fiea h drs eo rlgo to on log or below address the at Office ii,cl,o rt oteHdo ie Field River Hudson the to write or call, Visit, Source: Microsoft Corporation, 2009 PCBs o oeInformation: More For usnRiver Hudson r needed. are odtriei nei lau measures cleanup interim if determine to laigUp Cleaning sdt upeetacmrhniestudy comprehensive a supplement to used usn h eut ftesmln ilbe will sampling the of results The Hudson. ape rmtefodli ra fthe of areas floodplain the from samples Ehv olce prxmtl ,0 soil 5,000 approximately collected have GE h rsneo Cs ic 02 P and EPA 2002, Since PCBs. of presence the usnRvraeas en vlae for evaluated being also are River Hudson spr ftecenp h lopan fthe of floodplains the cleanup, the of part As lopan Investigation Floodplains Background The Decision to Dredge: For 30 years, ending in the late 1970s, the PCBs in the sediment are not safely buried. General Electric Company (GE) discharged as River sediment is continually redistributed across much as 1.3 million pounds of polychlorinated the bottom by erosion and river flows. This biphenyls (PCBs) into the Hudson River from its movement exposes PCB-contaminated sediment, capacitor manufacturing plants in Hudson Falls making it available to fish. PCBs degrade and Fort Edward, New York. naturally over time, but the process, called natural dechlorination, does not make them harmless. EPA considers all PCBs, regardless of their level of chlorination, to be hazardous. PCBs are harmful to people's health. Eating fish from the Hudson can PCBs cause cancer in laboratory animals, are be dangerous. considered a probable cause of cancer in people, and can trigger reproductive and For more than 30 years, concerns about PCBs immunological health affects and low birth in Hudson River fish have prompted New York weight. State to issue health advisories that recommend limits on eating fish from the river. General Electric Hudson Falls Plant and Bakers Falls In February 2002, the federal government • Women of childbearing age and ordered GE to conduct targeted environmental children under 15 should not eat any dredging of PCB-contaminated sediment in a 40- fish from the Hudson River. mile stretch of the Upper Hudson. After many • Between Bakers Falls (in Hudson Falls) years of study, dredging has begun. The and the Federal Dam in Troy, ecological and economic benefits of cleaning up catch and release fishing only. the river will be enjoyed for generations to come. To reduce your exposure to PCBs, follow state What are PCBs? fish consumption advisories available at 3’ 2’ 2’ 3’ PCBs in the river sediment also affect fish • PCBs were and wildlife. www.health.ny.gov/environmental/ widely used as a outdoors/fish/fish.htm fire preventive 4’ 4’ Removal of PCB-contaminated sediments will and insulator in reduce PCB levels in fish, and result in a For more information, call the NYS Dept. of the manufacture 5’ 6’ 5’6’ reduction in the risk to people's health, wildlife, Health at 1-800-458-1158. of transformers Structure of Polychlorinated and the environment. and capacitors. Biphenyl (PCB) Molecule • The chemical stability of PCBs, which made them valuable for industrial uses, also makes them hazardous to the environment. Dredging Project Information CompositeDefaultscreen Colorprofile:GenericCMYKprinterprofile Colorprofile:GenericCMYKprinterprofile CompositeDefaultscreen Dredging the Hudson River Dredging the Hudson River Dredging Project Area Map Glen Falls The cleanup of the Hudson River will occur in two phases. Phase 1 (the first year of the Project) was Hudson Falls Champlain WARREN Canal conducted by General Electric Co (GE) with oversight by EPA from May to November 2009. During COUNTY Rogers Island Dewatering Facility this phase, approximately 283,000 cubic yards was removed from a six-mile stretch of the Upper Fernwood Fort Edward Hudson River near Fort Edward, New York. After an extensive evaluation by an independent panel of Former Fort scientists and input from a broad range of stakeholders, EPA developed plans for the second part of Edward Dam Lock 7 Upper the cleanup. Phase 2 will be conducted at full production to remove the remainder of the Hudson River contaminated river sediments; Phase 2 targets the removal of approximately 350,000 cubic yards of Moses Kill sediment per year. Gansevoort Hudson River PCBs Thompson Island Dam Thompson Island It is estimated that the second phase of the project will take five to seven Superfund Site Map (far-field station) Fort Miller Dam Hudson Lock 6 years to complete. Extensive monitoring will be done during both phases to Falls UpperUpper ensure that the dredging operations are safe and that public health is Northumberland Dam HudsonHudson River River Lock 5 protected at all times. Batten Kill Saratoga Schuylerville Springs Schuylerville (far-field station) Greenwich Sediment Removal, Fast Facts Merchanicville Saratoga Springs Fish Creek Scotia Cohoes Processing, and Disposal Schenectady • Dredge areas were identified Watervliet Troy Mechanical dredges are being used to remove using the results of a multi- Albany Rensselaer SARATOGA PCB-contaminated sediment from the river bottom. year sediment sampling Castleton-on- COUNTY WASHINGTON program conducted by GE Hudson COUNTY Dredges mounted on deck barges use clamshell Hudson River that began in 2002 and buckets to place dredged sediment into barges. generated more than 50,000 Lower Tugboats then push the filled barges to a Hudson River sediment samples taken from Hudson dewatering and sediment-processing facility located the bottom of the Upper on the Champlain Canal in Fort Edward, NY. Once Hudson River. Some there, debris is removed and sediment is additional sediment sampling Lock 4 Stillwater Stillwater Stillwater mechanically dewatered. The water is treated on- will occur as the project Kingston Dam Hudson River site before being returned to the Champlain Canal. continues. Lock 3 Hoosic River The dewatered sediment and debris are loaded • Dredging occurs 24 hours a Valley Falls onto railcars for transport to a secure, PCB- day, six days a week, when Poughkeepsie Lock 2 approved landfill. the Champlain Canal is open Walden Clifton Park RENSSELAER 40 River (May to November). Beacon Miles Newburgh COUNTY Lock 1 This is what dredge • In total, about 490 acres of Halfmoon operators see and what Monroe Mohawk the Upper Hudson River will Peekskill allows them to identify River be dredged. Haverstraw Phase 1 Dredging Area where to dig. The depth Waterford Waterford Phase 2 Dredging Area and locations are The Hudson River PCBs Site (far-field Water Monitoring station) determined by satellites. encompasses a nearly 200-mile Cohoes Location The computer software stretch of the Hudson River in To Albany and Poughkeepsie Federal Dam and being used is specific to eastern NY from Hudson Falls, New York (far-field station) Troy Lock the Hudson River NY to the Battery in NYC. City dredging project. Dredging will occur in the upper 40-mile section of the Superfund Site, from Fort Edward, NY, south to the Federal Dam in Troy. Performance Standards Standards Engineering Performance Standards In-River Water Monitoring Project Safety Strict Engineering An extensive water quality The Phase 2 Remedial Action Community Health Performance monitoring program is in and Safety Plan (CHASP) addresses potential Standards have place at upstream, near- health and safety issues for the public associated been developed field, mid-field, and far- with the dredging project. to minimize field stations. Components of the Plan: resuspension of Near-field monitoring: PCBs during • Identifies potential hazards to the community 300 meters downstream of dredging. dredging. The during work in-river, on-shore, and at the processing facility resuspension Mid-field monitoring: approximately 1 to 2 miles standard created downstream of dredging. • Discusses the control of potential hazards for the project was specifically designed to: Far-field monitoring: greater than 2 miles • Outlines the measures that are being taken downstream of dredging. (See map for far-field to protect drinking water supplies • Protect drinking water intakes downriver of the dredging operations, and monitoring locations) • Includes emergency response plans for spills/releases/accidents • Limit the downriver transport of PCB- Water Quality Protection • Discusses the community notification process contaminated dredged material. EPA is committed to making sure that the project is • Identifies project safety personnel & The Resuspension Standard completed in a way that is protective of human emergency contacts health and the environment. • Outlines the complaint-resolution process The performance standard for dredging sets a • EPA has provided an alternate water supply to For the CHASP and other project-related resuspension level of 500 parts per trillion (ppt) total the towns who draw their water from the river.
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