Religious groups force GE disclosure of money spent to avoid cleanup

Published: 2006-01-11

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- After a decade of pressure from faith-based investment coalitions, the General Electric Co. disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it spent nearly $800 million to delay the cleanup of toxic PCB discharges in New York, Massachusetts and Georgia. "The reality is that $800 million would have gone a long, long way to cleaning up the problem if so much of that money had not been wasted on public relations, lobbying and courtroom delaying tactics," said Dominican Sister Patricia Daly, executive director of the Tri-State Coalition For Responsible Investment. The coalition is a consortium of about 40 Catholic institutional investors in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York. In a statement filed with the SEC, GE said it spent the money on "site investigation and remediation," "scientific research," legal fees and informational initiatives, among other things.

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