Dr. Peter deFur and Dr. David Carpenter, two of the world’s leading experts on health and ecological risks from PCBs will present *PCBs in the Housatonic River: What Are The Risks?* The event will be held on Tuesday, April 19 at 7 pm at the Fisher Science Center at Simons Rock College in Great Barrington.
Housatonic fish, waterfowl and sediment have some of the highest levels of PCBs in the world. In 2007 the USEPA will issue another decision on whether GE has to clean more of the Housatonic River. Join The Housatonic River Initiative, Housatonic Riverkeeper (MA/CT), Housatonic Environmental Action League, the Berkshire Environmental Action Team and The Berkshire Environmental Research Center at Simons Rock College in Great Barrington discussing the following issues:
Why does the rest of the Housatonic River need to be cleaned of PCBs? Why are PCBs one of the most persistent chemicals in the food chain? Why are there still fish advisories in Connecticut? Why does almost everyone on earth have PCBs in their bodies.Why do women have PCBs in their breast milk? What are PCBs doing to the wildlife? What is the Precautionary Principle? Dr. Peter L. deFur has extensive experience in ecological risk assessment regulations, guidance and policy.
He is chair of the Board of the Science and Environmental Health Network (SEHN), President of the Association for Science in the Public Interest, and recently completed a term on the National Research Council Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology (BEST).
He served on the NAS/NRC Risk Characterization Committee, completed numerous reviews of EPA ecological and human health risk assessments, and EPA’s Ecological Risk Assessment Guidelines. He also served on EPA’s Endocrine Disruptor Screening and Testing Advisory Committee (EDSTAC), and presently serves on the task force implementing EDSTAC recommendations.
Dr. David Carpenter is an internationally recognized expert in PCB and public health. He is a Professor at the Environmental Health and Toxicology Division, School of Public Health at the SUNY Albany. Dr. Carpenter is one of the lead researchers in studying PCBs in farm raised salmon and airborne PCBs. Dr. Carpenter has been an editorial advisor to many scientific journals, hosted a 170 station syndicated Public Health Radio Show, and is former Chair of the School of Public Health at SUNY Albany.
Prior to joining the SUNY Albany, Dr. Carpenter was a Research Physician at the Wadsworth Center for Laboratories and Research. Dr. Carpenter received his MD at the Harvard Medical School in Boston. He has extensive experience working with indigenous people throughout the world who are affected by PCBs. He has 220 publications, 37 reviews and book chapters and 12 other publications to his credit.
For additional information contact: Housatonicriver.org or Tim Gray, HRI, 413-243-3353 timgray@berkshire.net or Judy Herkimer, HEAL, 860-672-6867 healct@snet.net
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
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Former Harry's Supermarket Under Construction for Restaurant
Late last month, the Conservation Commission greenlit some tree pruning on the property. New windows and a new door can be seen in the front of the building.
"It's a substantial renovation that's currently underway here," Brent White of White Engineering said, speaking on behalf of the applicant and owner, Huajie Zhu.
A fire gutted the longtime Wahconah Street supermarket in 2023, and the following year, Zhu purchased the property for $460,000 two years ago to build a restaurant with hibachi in the existing footprint of the more than 100-year-old building.
White explained that the project has been ongoing for over a year, and the Community Development Board granted the property a waiver to reduce the minimum required number of parking spaces so that additional spaces aren't needed.
He noted that, looking at the site plan, there is very little room to do so. A mirror will be installed near the sharp turn on Bel Air Avenue to alleviate traffic concerns.
Pruning will be done on trees in the southeast corner of the existing paved parking lot, as a number of branches are hanging over. The new owners also intend to patch, sealcoat, and re-stripe the parking lot.
A fire tore through the building less than an hour after the supermarket closed for the day three years ago. An automatic sprinkler system is required for the new use.
Cassidy Flynn scattered five hits in a complete-game effort in the circle as Lenox upset top-seeded Hoosac Valley, 3-2, in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament. click for more
Brayden Durant struck out seven and walked one in a complete-game effort on the mound Saturday to pitch the Drury baseball team to a 6-0 win over Keefe Tech in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament at Joe Wolfe Field. click for more
Jason Codey struck out 13, walked two and allowed just an infield single as the Generals earned a 7-1 win over Wahconah to claim their third straight regional title. click for more
Gracelyn Wright struck out eight, and Genevieve Lagess went 3-for-5 with four runs batted in as the Hurricanes beat Monson, 17-3, to claim their first Western Mass title in four years. click for more
For the boys, Ward Bianchi helped lead the way with a win in the shot put and a second place in the javelin as the Mounties finished 16 points ahead of runner-up Pittsfield (pending the results of the pole vault, which were unavailable at 11 p.m. Friday night). click for more
