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.
“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.”
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.
“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.
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