PCB Cleanup Costs Soar

Decades of paper manufacturing and industrial processing along Wisconsin’s Fox River has left a considerable amount of PCB contamination in the river soils. The long-term cleanup plan has used a great deal of geosynthetic dewatering and capping materials. (See the August/September 2006 issue’s “Geotube Dewatering Containers Help in Cleanup of Fox River.”) But the costs of the project have climbed. Planners now estimate $600 million is needed. This may limit the final activities.