United States
Environmental Protection
k Agency
EPA Community Involvement
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
GE/Housatonic River Site
Community Update
August 2009
This community update provides you with information on the GE/Housatonic River Site "Rest of River RiskAssessments"
Introduction
EPA is issuing this fact sheet to provide
a review of the risks from the PCB con-
tamination in the Housatonic River and its
flood plain.
ERA conducted a Human Health Risk As-
sessment (HHRA) to quantify risks to adults
and children exposed to PCBs originating
from the GE Facility in Pittsfield, Massachu-
setts. Exposure could occur while living or
working near the Housatonic River and its
floodplain, or using the river and floodplain
for recreation or agriculture. In addition,
an Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) was
conducted to quantify risks from PCBs to
the animals living and/or feeding in the river
and floodplain.
The HHRA and the ERA identified and
quantified serious risks to humans and the
environment from the PCBs in the river
and its floodplain and biota. Currently, fish
consumption advisories are in place in both
Massachusetts and Connecticut due to the
PCBs, and in Massachusetts there are advi-
sories on consuming waterfowl, frogs and
turtles as well.
Background
The risk assessments were conducted by
teams of experts working with EPA us-
ing state-of-the-art techniques. The risk
assessments were based on an extensive
site-specific database derived from thou-
sands of samples collected over several
years, as well as site-specific laboratory
and field studies.
Both risk assessments were subjected to
a public external Peer Review process and
formal public comment period.The Peer
Review Panels were comprised of teams
of internationally recognized experts in
risk assessment. Comments from the
Panels were incorporated into the final
risk assessments, which were issued in
November 2004 (ERA) and February
2005 (HHRA). Both documents are avail-
able at: www.epa.gov/regionl/ge/thesite/
restofriver-reports.html .
Human Health Risk
Assessment
The HHRA began with a screening of all
environmental media to determine the
most serious routes of exposure to PCBs
in the Housatonic River and floodplain.
These routes of exposure are:
• direct contact with contami-
nated soil and sediment;
• consumption of contaminated
fish and waterfowl; and
• consumption of contaminated
agricultural products produced
in the floodplain.
The HHRA evaluated each of these path-
ways separately and provided some insight
into how these risks could be combined for
individuals exposed to multiple pathways.
Risks from exposure to PCBs in river water
and air were found to be below levels EPA
considers unacceptable.
What are PCBs?
A class of chemicals consisting of 209 in-
dividual compounds known as congeners.
PCBs are classified by EPA as probable
human carcinogens. EPA recognizes that
PCBs also cause neurological and de-
velopmental effects and considers all PCB
mixtures to be toxic.
Direct Contact Exposure
Fish and Waterfowl Consumption
Agricultural Product Consumption
continued >
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Risk from Direct Contact with
Floodplain Soil
More than 240 individual exposure areas
along the Housatonic River, most of them
between the confluence and Rising Pond,
were evaluated for risk due to exposure
to PCBs in floodplain soil and sediment.
The amount of exposure depended upon
the accessibility of a particular area. Direct
contact with soil and sediment was assumed
to occur randomly across an exposure
area. If people spend more time in a more
contaminated part of an exposure area, the
risks will be higher. The risks from direct
contact are summarized below:
•Cancer risks from exposure to
PCBs in soil are within the EPA risk
range, except for one recreational
exposure (adult angler) in one ex-
posure area.
•Non-cancer Hazard Indices (His)
from exposure to PCBs in soil ex-
ceeded the EPA benchmark of 1.0
in some exposure areas for almost
all exposure scenarios.
•Cancer risks from exposure to
PCBs in sediment were within the
EPA risk range in all of the exposure
areas.
•Non-cancer His exceeded 1.0 at
two of the sediment exposure
areas.
Riskfrom Consumption of Fish and
Waterfowl
The Housatonic River in Massachusetts
and Connecticut is currently under various
restrictions regarding the consumption of
fish and other animals from the river due
to the PCB contamination. Although cur-
rent advisories are assumed to reduce the
amount offish and other biota that people
eat, the fish and waterfowl consumption
portion of the HHRA evaluated cancer and
non-cancer risks to individuals consuming
quantities of these foods that would be
anticipated in the absence of restrictions,
as required by EPA guidance.The risks are
summarized below:
•Cancer risks from consuming fish
and waterfowl greatly exceed EPA's
risk range in Massachusetts and in
Connecticut. The risks in Massa-
chusetts are greater than those in
Connecticut.
•Non-cancer risks from consuming
fish and waterfowl greatly exceed
EPA's benchmark of a HI of I .O.The
His in Massachusetts are greater
than those in Connecticut.
•Although the amount of frogs and
turtles consumed was assumed to
be much less than fish and water-
fowl, concentrations of PCBs in
these species would also result in
risk if consumed in large quantities.
Riskfrom Consumption of
Agricultural Products
The agricultural portion of the HHRA
evaluated risks from consuming com-
mercial and backyard (home grown) meat,
dairy, and produce as well as risks associ-
ated with home gardens. It also provided
an estimate of the risk associated with
consuming other food sources such as deer
and wild edible plants. Because of limited
data on PCBs in site-specific agricultural
products, the assessment used an innova-
tive modeling approach to evaluate risks.
The results were presented in a way that
allowed the risks to be scaled to different
average PCB concentrations in floodplain
soil for different acres used.The risks are
summarized below:
Commercial Farms
For commercial farm families who con-
sume their products or crops (assuming
that all feed and crops are grown in soil
with average PCB soil concentrations
of 2 mg/kg or less), cancer risks from
PCBs are within EPA's Risk Range,
and non-cancer His are below EPA's
benchmark. However, if average soil
concentrations in the areas used by the
animals or upon which feed or crops
are grown are higher, both cancer and
non-cancer risks are likely.
IE+00
IE-OI-
IE-02-
SUMMARY OF THE
RANGE OF CANCER RISKS
FROM TOTAL PCBs
IE-OS
|" "j I-.I'A n%V range (IH-06 to IK-OJj
Note: The range of cancer rista ftwiists of lite fowttt central tetuimuy t'
In the hight'M maswabtt nutximum < \jnt.\itn- > r.vi.
Risks I nun
Fish und WulcrfoH
i'onsiimplmn
IN Hi I
SUMMARY OF THE
RANGE OF NON-CANCER RISKS
FROM TOTAL PCBs
D
DO
D
H:i/;u il Indicts from him t Cmilucl K\posurc
Nute: Hit range t'f hayirtl indice* cwisfots vfthe lowest central tendency e
Iti the hif>lti-\t rfti.\tmtil>lt' mtuttnuni iM/im
-------
Summary of the Range of Hazard Quotients from Total PCBs for Selected Species
1000
•§ 100
s
(0
I
o
1
0>
I
o
10
LEGEND
Median HQ '
Notes:
' HOs for other reaches are intermediate
to the ones shown in the figure.
t Other reaches had similar bul
slightly lower HQs.
• H0= 1 (toxic effect threshold level)
0.1
0.01
I
I
1
Source: EPA
Backyard Farms
•For families consuming backyard-
raised dairy, beef, and poultry prod-
ucts, cancer risks from PCBs are
within, but at the high end of EPA's
Risk Range for PCB soil concentra-
tions of 2 mg/kg or less. However,
where the average soil concentrations
exceed 2 mg/kg, there may be unac-
ceptable risks.
•Non-cancer risks exceed EPA's
benchmark.
Home Gardens and Wild Plants
•Consumption of home garden produce
(at a soil concentration of 2 mg/kg
or less) is not a health risk, even in
combination with soil exposure during
gardening activities.
•Risk from consumption of wild plants
is unlikely because consumption rates
are assumed to be lower than for home
garden produce.
Ecological Risk Assessment
In the ERA, risk to eight different groups
of animals, consisting of species that are
related or share other characteristics such
as dietary preferences, were evaluated.The
eight groups are:
•Benthic invertebrates
•Amphibians
•Fish
•Insectivorous (insect-eating) Birds
•Piscivorous (fish-eating) Birds
•Piscivorous Mammals
•Omnivorous/Carnivorous (plant and
animal/animal-eating) Mammals
•Threatened & Endangered Species
These groups of animals are all important
components of the Housatonic River
ecosystem. For each of these groups, con-
centrations of PCBs in the environment
that each group comes into contact with
(generally water, sediment, soil, and food)
were compared to data on the toxicity of
PCBs for the species in question. In addition,
site-specific field surveys and toxicity studies
using soil,sediment, waterand animals from
the site were conducted for many species by
scientists from across the country.
The figure above provides one way of visual-
izing the extent of risks to these ecological
receptors from PCBs in the river and flood-
plain. In this presentation, hazard quotients
(HQs) were calculated for the various rep-
resentative species by dividing their range
of individual PCB exposure concentrations
by a concentration corresponding to low or
no effects. An HQ exceeding 1.0 indicates
that the species is at risk, with the magnitude
of the risk generally proportional to the
magnitude of the HQ.
As shown in the figure, many of the species
have HQs exceeding 1.0, and in some cases
the HQs exceed 10 or even 100, indicating
that the PCB concentrations in the river
and/or floodplain are 10 or as much as 100
times greater than a concentration consid-
ered to not pose risk to that species.
In addition,the site-specific field and toxicity
studies evaluated adverse effects to benthic
invertebrates, frogs, fish, tree swallows,
robins, belted kingfisher, mink, and short-
tail shrews. In these studies, the effects
from exposure to PCBs through water, soil,
sediment or diet from the Housatonic River
were evaluated in the river or floodplain
directly, and/or in the laboratory. In these
site-specific studies, with the exception of
the bird species, survival or reproductive or
developmental impairments attributable to
the PCBs were measured and are described
in detail in each of the scientists' reports
as well as summarized in the ERA. The
vast majority of the effects have also been
documented in other studies of PCBs or
related chemicals. Some of the effects that
were observed included:
•Benthic invertebrate mortality (death)
and impaired development;
•Reduced survival of larval fish, and
various deformities including swim
bladders that were malformed or
formed outside of the body cavity;
•Frogs with abnormal egg masses, mal-
formations, impacts to metamorphosis
(development from tadpoles to frogs),
and sex changes;
•Mortality in 50% of minkyoung within
six weeks of birth from mothers that
were fed a diet containing very low
concentrations of PCBs in fish har-
vested from the Housatonic River.Jaw
lesions were observed in the develop-
ing young that did survive,which results
continued >
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(continued from page 3)
in eventual loss of teeth, leading to
anorexia and finally death.
•While not measured directly,there
is expected impairment of repro-
duction in ospry and bald eagles.
The findings of the Risk Characteriza-
tion demonstrated conclusively that the
many species of aquatic life and wildlife
in the Housatonic River ecosystem are
experiencing intermediate to high risk
as a result of exposure to PCBs in both
the river and floodplain. In addition, these
results also demonstrated that similar
risks extend to species beyond those
specifically evaluated.
RISKS ARE PRESENTED AS NUMBERS
Cancer Risk is the increased probability, or chance, of getting
cancer as a result of exposure to chemicals at a site. In the
reports for this site, a 1 in 1,000.000 chance is written as 1E-06.
Noncancer Risk is a comparison of an allowable exposure to the
amount of exposure estimated at a site. The comparison is called
the Hazard Index (HI).
site exposure
HI
allowable exposure
An HI greater than 1 indicates that the site exposure exceeds the
allowable exposure.
Acceptable Risks for cancer are considered by EPA to be less
than 1 in 1,000,000. Between a 1 in 1,000,000 and a 1 in 10,000
chance, EPA looks at the site-specific factors affecting risk and
the uncertainties with the estimate. For noncancer health effects,
an HI less than 1 means people are unlikely to be harmed.
PCBs in the Housatonic River and Floodplain
•The Housatonic River and its floodplain are heavily contaminated with PCBs originat-
ing from the GE Facility in Pittsfield, MA
•Most of the PCB contamination is found between the confluence of the East and West
branches in Pittsfield and Woods Pond Dam in Lenox and further into Rising Pond in
Great Barrington, MA; however,the contamination has also spread downstream from
Pittsfield into Connecticut, a distance of approximately 140 miles.
•The PCBs found at this site are persistent in the environment and resistant to bio-
degradation; as a result, the concentrations of PCBs in river sediment,floodplain soil,
and fish show little decrease over time.
•Fish, other aquatic animals, and wildlife in the river and floodplain contain concentrations of
PCBs that are among the highest ever measured.
•Natural recovery from this contamination in the absence of cleanup in the river
and floodplain is a very slow process that will take decades if not hundreds of years
before PCB concentrations in fish decrease to a level that will permit unlimited
consumption.
•Clean up of contaminated sediment, bank and floodplain soil in the first two miles
of the East Branch of the Housatonic River downstream from the GE facility was
performed by GE and EPA from 1999 to 2007.
For more information :
EPA contacts:
Jim Murphy
ERA Community Involvement
Coordinator
(617)918-1028
murphy.jim@epa.gov
ERA Records Center
Boston, MA 021 14
(617)918-1440
www.epa.gov/ne/ge
More Information:
Berkshire Athenaeum Public Library
Reference Department
Pittsfield, MA 01201
(413)499-9480
Cornwall Public Library
Cornwall, CT 06796
(860) 672-6874
Kent Memorial Library
(Kent Library Association)
Kent, CT 06757
(860) 927-3761
Housatonic Valley Association
Cornwall Bridge, CT 06754
(860) 672-6678
Massachusetts Department
of Environmental Protection
Springfield, MA 01 103
(413)784-1100
Connecticut Department
of Environmental Protection
Hartford, CT 06106
(860) 424-3854
&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
1 Congress Street
Suite 1100
Boston, MA 02114-2023
PRSRT STD
US POSTAGE PAID
BOSTON, MA
PERMfTNQ G-35
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