In midst of cleanup of contaminated New England river, supporters are split on how to continue

In midst of river cleanup, supporters are divided

LENOX, Mass. — Federal environmental officials are trying to decide how extensively to clean up cancer-causing agents in the Housatonic (hoos-uh-TAH’-nihk) River in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

General Electric Co. used such toxic compounds, called PCBs, for more than four decades at its transformer plant in Pittsfield, Mass. The company has nearly completed the first phase of cleanup in and around the city at a cost of more than $400 million.

Many people who fish or canoe in the nearby Housatonic worry that dredging to remove PCBs could disrupt recreation and spoil the natural beauty of the river.

GE is expected to recommend in October that it take a less invasive approach for the rest of the river cleanup, expected to focus on the river’s first 10 miles downstream from the plant.