United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2000-09-28 monographic deposited born digital 38 p. GA 1.13:RCED-00-193 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-193 P0b002ee18037ddef f:rc00193 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-193 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-193 RCED-00-193 Environmental monitoring Hazardous substances Health hazards Wastewater management Water pollution control Industrial pollution Computer modeling Inland waterways Hudson River (NY) Superfund Program EPA Community Interaction Program Letter Report RCED Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) decision to clean up the Hudson River, focusing on: (1) the computer models EPA and General Electric (GE) are using in their assessments and related scientific and technical issues; and (2) the processes EPA is using to obtain and respond to scientific and technical comments on its modeling and other assessment studies.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) the computer models that EPA and GE have developed to predict polychlorinated biphenyls levels in the Hudson River are generally similar in structure and have produced generally comparable outcomes; (2) for example, both models indicate that PCB levels in the Hudson River will eventually decline if no cleanup action is taken; (3) however, the models differ in certain technical respects, particularly concerning the level of complexity and detail used to describe how PCBs behave in the environment; (4) as a result, since the models are not interchangeable, they could lead to different conclusions regarding the extent to which PCBs pose an unacceptable level of risk to human health and the environment, currently and in the future; (5) in addition to the modeling differences, EPA and GE disagree on related scientific and technical issues, for example, whether PCBs in a certain area of the river are a continuing source of contamination for the entire river; (6) EPA obtained public and external scientific and technical comments on its assessment model and studies from several sources; (7) EPA, through a contractor, established five independent peer review panels comprised of 29 experts to review its major scientific and technical work products; (8) these panels received public comments during peer review meetings, a step not normally taken; (9) EPA used an extensive public outreach process as part of its assessment of the Hudson River; (10) this process involved several working groups established by EPA to help ensure that its public outreach process was inclusive; (11) EPA consulted with interested federal and state agencies and GE to obtain scientific and technical information and suggestions on its approach; (12) EPA expects to propose its decision for public comment by December 2000; and (13) in reaching its decision, EPA plans to incorporate comments received from a number of sources, including GE. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-193/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-193.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-193/pdf/GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-193.pdf GAO/RCED-00-193 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-193 Letter Report GAO/RCED-00-193; Superfund: Information Regarding EPA's Cleanup Decision; Environmental monitoring Hazardous substances Health hazards Wastewater management Water pollution control Industrial pollution Computer modeling Inland waterways Hudson River (NY) Superfund Program EPA Community Interaction Program