jdmann@cdp.uucp (David Yarrow) (10/07/89)
/* ---------- "PCB Cleanup at St. Regis Mohawk Na" ---------- */
/* Written 2am 10/7/89 by David Yarrow(jdmann) in gen.nativeam */
Source: Syr.Post, Friday, Oct 6 by AP
EPA ORDERS TWO FIRMS TO CLEAN RIVERS
US Environmental Protection Agency Thursday ordered Aluminum Co. of
America and Reynolds Metals Co. to study and clean up PCB contamination in
the St. Lawrence, Grasse and Raquette rivers near Massena.
State officials and the St. Regis Mohawks, whose reservation has been
contaminated by PCBs, have been seeking federal action on the contaminated
sites for years. PCBs - polychlorinated biphenyls, a coolant used in
electrical components - have been linked to cancer and banned the federal
government in 1977.
EPA stopped short of listing contaminated stretches of rivers as
Superfund priority hazardous waste sites.
"This cleanup will allow residents of St. Regis Mohawk Indian Reservation
to begin using the St. Lawrence-Grasse rivers again," said William
Muszynski, acting EPA regional administrator.
Both companies used PCBs at production plants in Massena. PCBs were
discharged into the St. Lawrence River by Reynolds, and into the Grasse by
ALCOA through water discharge pipes, sewer drains and surface water runoff.
Both companies are cleaning up contamination under state consent orders,
which deal with PCB contamination at the plant sites by not in the rivers.
Federal orders move the investigation and cleanup effort into those
rivers, said NYS Environmental Conservation Commissioner Thomas Jorling.
The orders also lay the groundwork for NYS to file a civil lawsuit to
recover damages to natural resources caused by the pollution, he said.
Company officials could not be reached for comment Thursday.
PCB level of 50 ppm is considered hazardous waste, and certain "hot
spots" in the rivers have PCB levels as high as 1,000 ppm, said Edward
Sullivan, state deputy commissioner of Environmental Conservation. Sullivan
said it's too early to put a price tag on the cleanup, but he added, "It's
certainly in the millions of dollars."
"Years of indiscriminate dumping of toxic substances by ALCOA, Reyonolds
and a third company, General Motors, have made Massena the site of the most
serious concentration of pollutants in the St. Lawrence River," said NYS
Attorney General Robert Abrams. "All three companies agreed in March to
assess ways to clean up the river ecosystem. When their latest proposals
proved inadequate, we met with EPA to determine the most effective way to
compel the companies to clean up the river," he said.
GM property is already a federal Superfund site, which means the federal
government can spend money on cleanup, then sue the company for costs. EPA
will soon propose a cleanup plan for the GM Superfund site, said Muszynski.
=============================================================
COMMENTARY: PCB & other contamination has wreaked havoc on the ecosystem,
economy and health of St. Regis Mohawks. A community water intake is 1/4
miles downstream from the GM site. Infertility, birth defects, sickness,
bone disease, tooth decay, and other effects are common among livestock and
humans at St. Regis. Action was taken in 1983 after NYS DEC Wildlife
Pathologist Ward Stone, at the request of the St. Regis Mohawks, found
incredibly high PCB and dioxin levels in snapping turtles and other animals
in the river at the GM site.
****************
- prepared by David Yarrow, the turtle, for SOLSTICE magazine
***** SOLSTICE: Perspectives on Health and Environment, is published
bimonthly at 201 E. Main St Suite H, Charlottesville, VA 22901 804-979-4427
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