The Hudson River Cleanup and Ge Case Study

1. What are the social and ethical issues in this case? Which are major and which are minor?

A major issue is that Hudson River PCBs are a serious health risk. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can damage the immune, reproductive, nervous and endocrine systems. They can impair children’s physical and intellectual development. PCBs also cause cancer in animals and are strongly linked to human cancer, according to studies by leading health agencies. GE claims PCBs do not hurt people, citing a study it commissioned on workers at its Hudson Falls plant. They NYS Department of Health and many independent scientists critiqued the research and said it does not support GE’s claims. Also according to the EPA, cancer risks from eating upper river PCB contaminated fish are 1,000 times its goal for protection and ten times the highest level generally allowed by Superfund Law.

2. Who are the stakeholders and what are their stakes? Assess their legitimacy, power, and urgency.

Two stakeholders groups who have common interests and could form a coalition to have their interests addressed would be Congressmen and residents of the affected site.

3. Do your own research on PCBs. Do your findings clarify their status as being so hazardous they must be removed? Or are they best left where they have settled?

As it states in the Case twenty-five PCBs are fire retardant chemical, and after 200 variations of the chemical, which were, dumped legally in the 30-year period it was determined a possible risk of cancer according to EPA, also can also harm the immune, nervous, and reproductive systems of humans, fish, and wildlife. After reading this article and doing a quick research regarding this case and harm of this quemical into waters I believe it must be removed for the safe and health of the communities that are around that area and the danger of their sons and daughters.

4. Who is responsible for the contaminated Hudson River? GE? EPA? State of New York? Local citizens? What...