The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s GE-Pittsfield/Housatonic River website provides an overview of one of the region’s most significant environmental cleanup efforts. The site explains how decades of industrial activity by General Electric led to widespread contamination of the Housatonic River with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)—toxic chemicals that persist in sediments, soils, and wildlife and can remain in the environment for hundreds of years.
The EPA outlines the scope of contamination, associated risks to human health and ecosystems, and the long-term cleanup strategy now underway. This includes completed remediation in Pittsfield and the first sections of the river, as well as ongoing and future work downstream. The site also details how PCBs move through the environment, accumulate in fish and wildlife, and continue to shape land use, public health protections, and restoration decisions across the watershed.
Visitors can explore maps, cleanup plans, risk information, and project updates—offering a federal perspective on the history, science, and current status of efforts to address PCB pollution in the Housatonic River.