Hudson Falls, Fort Edward Projects Advance

Since 1977, when GE discontinued the use of PCBs in manufacturing electrical equipment, the company and New York State have worked together to implement effective PCB cleanup projects at GE's plant sites in Hudson Falls and Fort Edward, N.Y., where PCBs were used. The Hudson Falls plant site has been entirely converted to environmental projects; at the Fort Edward plant, production of capacitors continues and 280 people are employed there. At both plants, the goal of the clean-up programs has been to prevent PCBs from reaching the Hudson River and the community.

At Hudson Falls

GE has begun the next phase of its Hudson Falls plant site environmental remediation program. During this phase, tunnels equipped with collection devices are being built in the rock beneath the Hudson River. These tunnels, which are being built with oversight by the New York State Departments of Environmental Conservation and Health, are designed to capture the remaining small amount of PCBs entering the river through the rock in the vicinity of the Hudson Falls facility.

The first phase of the work involves excavating the 24-foot diameter vertical shaft -- 200 feet below the ground surface in the vacant lot adjacent to the river. This work began in mid-September and will last until spring of next year. Horizontal shafts -- 950 feet in length -- will extend from the vertical shaft and will be aligned in the shape of an "Y" in the bedrock 80 feet below the river. These horizontal shafts or tunnels will be about 10 feet in diameter and will be outfitted with equipment to drain PCBs out of the bedrock above, collect the PCBs and pump them to the expanded water treatment facility. The excavation of the rock is being accomplished by a series of carefully controlled blasts. Crews are then removing the fragmented rock and progress deeper into the shaft.

GE has developed a program to keep the neighboring community informed about the blasting associated with construction of the tunnels. If you would like to be notified of upcoming blasts, please contact GE at 518-792-4087. For more information about the blasting program, click here.

At Fort Edward

The Fort Edward facility is located approximately one mile south of GE's Hudson Falls plant. Here, a groundwater collection and treatment program, including 20 recovery wells, pumps and treats groundwater containing PCBs and other contaminants. To date, more than 450 million gallons of water have been successfully treated. In addition, a plume of contaminated groundwater has shrunk by 50 percent. GE conducts a long-term monitoring program on the site and in the nearby community to evaluate the effectiveness of the system.