As General Electric Co. has unveiled its plan for cleaning the Housatonic River, an audience of Berkshire residents has begun to question whether the cure is worse than the disease, and some have made the surprising suggestion that one of the most polluted rivers in the country should be left untouched unless a less invasive approach is found. GE's plan has been in the works for a decade, another step in a long process set forth by a 2000 cleanup settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Pittsfield and the state. The EPA now is reviewing GE's proposal and has the right to ask for changes or to issue its own remedy.

The GE plan calls for dredging the first five miles south of Fred Garner River Park on Pittsfield's Pomeroy Avenue. GE would place a clean cap of sand over the next five miles and over Woods Pond on the Lee and Lenox town line. The rest of the river would be untouched.

GE also would dig up 38 acres of polluted land in the river's floodplain and would store 227,000 cubic yards of sediment and soil in a landfill located somewhere near the river. The entire project would take about 10 years.

"I haven't read the entire 1,000-page report,

but at first blush, it sounds to me like the cure could be worse than the disease," wrote Roscoe Sandlin, a Lenox selectman, in his "Roscoe Report," an e-mailed newsletter to constituents. "Lenox Dale would potentially be a near-disaster area for 10 years," he added, "and town roads would be overused by thousands of trucks hauling sand and sediment. In the end, we could (be) left with a hazardous waste site and torn-up roads, and still not be able to eat the fish!"

Others have voiced similar concerns. In Pittsfield, Ward 4 City Councilor Michael Ward came out in early opposition to a local landfill and is now questioning the wisdom of dredging the river and excavating its floodplain in such sensitive areas as Canoe Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary.

"The river is not getting worse right now," Ward said. "It hasn't been getting worse since the 1970s, and I don't want to rush into a cleanup using yesterday's technology."

Even The Boston Globe editorial page has weighed in, saying that the "public and EPA have every reason to wonder whether its plan's costs and benefits are anywhere near in balance."

But from the EPA's perspective, the Housatonic is among the most studied and most polluted rivers in the country. Its studies have documented real harm to the environment and real threats to people. Although it may be a beautiful body of water, it is toxic, and not cleaning it up with proven means is unacceptable.

GE used PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, in the giant transformers it manufactured at its Pittsfield plant. The same quality that made PCBs valuable - the ability to survive in even the most destructive environments - makes them a persistent pollutant that refuses to break down in nature.

Studies have shown that PCBs have a devastating impact on wildlife. Laboratory mink and otter fed contaminated fish from the river died. The chemical has long been suspected of causing cancer in people, but more recent studies have raised the possibility that even small exposures in utero can lead to developmental disabilities in children. Emerging research also ties PCBs to endocrine disruption in adults.

Full Story: http://www.berkshireeagle.com/headlines/ci_9080687