Grasse River Superfund Site: Effects of Alcoa’s Pollution on Water Quality and Community Health (2021)

The Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA) has been polluting culturally significant rivers in the North Country since the 1950s. For decades, Alcoa deposited the industrial chemical polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) through mineral sediment into the Grasse River. In 1989 the EPA required Alcoa to determine the extent of sediment pollution and collaborate with the agency to design an affordable and sustainable clean-up project. We assert that this problem would have been handled very differently if the pollution was affecting wealthy, white, or privileged folk. In this study, we evaluate ALCOA’s impact on surrounding ecosystems and human communities. Testing the water at three locations on the Grasse River will allow us to determine whether stream quality is better upstream or downstream of the ALCOA Superfund site. By surveying community members close to these sites, we predict more noticeable effects will be recorded at residential addresses downstream from Alcoa, with lesser effects upstream.  

• Student(s): Skyler Trumble, Zoey Fiber, Mia Difonzo
• Project Mentor(s): Katherine Cleary
• L&RF 2021 Presentation-Grasse River