PCB and the Housatonic River materials

Collection

Identifier: 2022-513-119

Staff Only

Scope and content

The principal documents noted above and the accompanying correspondence offer a snapshot of how local government responded to a perceived health threat.

Dates

Creation: 1978-1983

Creator

Bell, B. C. (Person)
Kolbye, Albert C. (Person)
Brown, J. F. (Person)
Weisburger, Elizabeth K. (Person)
Beck, G. J. (Person)
United States. Office of Water Research and Technology (Organization)
University of Connecticut. Institute of Water Resources (Organization)

Language of Materials

Text in English.

Biographical sketch

The waters of the Housantonic River were found to contain PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls), a toxic compound used as cooling liquids in electrical equipment, that existed as a result of leakages from a General Electric Company plant located in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Even after use of PCBs was discontinued there was a forty-year buildup of residue in the sediments of the river and this in turn caused fish to become contaminated by them. This report was an attempt to describe the problem and strategize a method of dealing with it.

Extent

1 Linear Feet (1 folder)

Additional Description

General Note

This collection of materials includes a 24-page report issued by CASE in 1978 and subsequent documents generated by it, including a transcript of a 1979 conference and a 1982 analysis of PCBs found in fish taken from the river.