Cleaning Up A Dirty River And a Legacy

September 24, 2010 - In many ways, the Housatonic River has borne most of the brunt of General Electric’s legacy in this city.

The river is filled with cancer-causing chemicals. For nearly four decades, GE used chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, at its transformer plant on the banks of the river.

What's more, GE gave contaminated soil to people in Pittsfield — to use in their lawns and gardens.

The surrounding neighborhoods are filled with people whose families have been touched by the contamination. People such as former GE worker Dave Gibbs.

"My mom died of breast cancer. She worked at GE," Gibbs says.

"My uncle died of pancreatic cancer and he used to run the swamp which feeds the Housatonic. My sister, in her early 40s, had both her breasts cut off, because the doctor told her it would cut her chances in half. She worked at GE. There are just stories like that all through the neighborhood."

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Enbridge Offers to Buy 200 Michigan Oil Spill Homes; Evacuation, Restrictions Still in Place

August 4, 2010 - The oil spill in Marshall that dumped over one million gallons of oil into the Kalamazoo River has been contained, reported the Environmental Protection Agency earlier this week, but cleanup will likely take months.

Calhoun and Kalamazoo counties have not yet lifted restrictions on the river area: signs are posted along the riverbanks prohibiting all swimming, boating and fishing; the water is not to be used for irrigation or water for animals; and residents are still encouraged to stay away from the area as much as possible due to benzene levels in the air.

For area dog owners, this may mean finding a new place for daily walks or even boarding the dog elsewhere until the restrictions are lifted. The 61 homes surrounding the original spill area are still under a voluntary evacuation order.

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Investigators seek source of PCBs in Spokane River

June 14, 2010 - Industry has flourished along the banks of the Spokane River for more than a century. So, perhaps it’s no surprise that high levels of PCBs show up in rainbow trout and other fish.

Once found in everything from lipstick to cable insulation, PCBs were banned more than 30 years ago because of their link to cancer and other health problems. But the toxic compounds are still flowing into the river through storm water runoff.

Tracking the pollution’s source is part of a $980,000 "Urban Waters Initiative" at the Washington Department of Ecology.

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