Letter to the Editor: Clean Up the Hudson River

Every five years the Environmental Protection Agency reviews the ongoing PCB cleanup of the Hudson River. PCB contamination has turned the Hudson into one of the country’s largest Superfund sites, making it unsafe to consume its fish, shutting down its fishing industry and compromising its ecological health.

This is not just an up-river problem. Downriver communities like Hastings have some of the worst concentrations of PCBs recorded. It is imperative that the EPA issue a clear schedule and commitment to order a formal Remedial and Investigation and Feasibility Study for the Lower Hudson and design an effective cleanup remedy for the Upper Hudson River floodplains.

The League of Women Voters of the Rivertowns urges you to write to the EPA Region 2 Administrator ( garcia.lisa@epa.gov ) to hold General Electric accountable for its part, to acknowledge that the remedy set forth is “ not protective of human health and the environment ” and to not dismiss the importance of achieving target PCB concentrations.