Share Owner Proposal No. 4
The Sisters of St. Dominic of Caldwell, New Jersey, 52 Old Swartswood Station Road, Newton, NJ 07860, and other filers have notified GE that they intend to submit the following proposal at this year's meeting:

"Whereas: General Electric disposed of at least 1.3 million pounds of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) into the Hudson River. An additional large amount seeped beneath GE plants in Fort Edward and Hudson Falls, NY, some of which is currently discharging into the Hudson River. The Environmental Protection Agency designated 200 miles of the Hudson River as a Superfund site in 1984. In February 1976, a state Department of Conservation Hearing Officer, in a case against GE, described GE's actions as 'corporate abuse' and found that the record 'overwhelmingly' demonstrated that GE violated NY State law by discharging large quantities of PCBs into the Hudson River.

"The federal government regulates PCBs as a known animal carcinogen and probable human carcinogen. Additional independent evidence indicates that PCBs may affect the immune and reproductive systems, cause endocrine disruption and have neurological effects.

"Sampling by the state and federal agencies has determined that PCB concentrations in the Upper Hudson sediments range as high as 40 times the state standard. EPA determined in 1999 that the health risk from eating PCB-contaminated fish from the Upper Hudson exceeds the EPA protective level by 1000 times.

"Despite repeated government and other studies determining that PCBs are a serious threat, GE engages in extensive public relations efforts, suggesting that 'there is no credible evidence that PCBs in the Hudson River pose a risk to people or wildlife' (GE spokesman Mark Behan, EPA Reports Dangers in Eating Fish From Upper Hudson River, Associated Press, 8/4/99).

"Despite the EPA's decision that a ROD (Record of Decision) will be issued and the Hudson River must undergo an extensive clean up, GE continues to engage in extensive public relations and lobbying efforts to dilute this plan. We believe these efforts tarnish GE's credibility and delay the cleanups.

"Resolved: Shareholders request the Board of Directors to report by August 1, 2002, at reasonable cost and excluding confidential information, its annual expenditures by category and specific site (where applicable) for each year from 1990-2001, on attorney's fees, expert fees, lobbying, and public relations/media expenses, relating in any way to the health and environmental consequences of PCB exposures, GE's remediation of sites contaminated by PCBs, and/or hazardous substance laws and regulations, as well as expenditures on actual remediation of PCB contaminated sites.

"Statement Of Support: This resolution has been sponsored by dozens of religious, public and private pension funds. It is long overdue that our company put aside its defense of actions from years ago and finally cooperate with the Federal and State agencies to clean up the contamination. The EPA plan to clean up the Hudson River is a needed step in helping to restore the health of the River, the fishing and tourist industries, and the natural and human health of all life in the Hudson River Bioregion. This is a critical moment in the history of GE to step out as a social and environmentally responsible company."

Your Board of Directors recommends a vote AGAINST this proposal.
GE has undertaken substantial efforts to remediate the effects of past waste disposal, to comply with current standards of environmental protection and worker safety, and to prevent future environmental harm. Moreover, GE is accountable to many units and levels of government, both in the United States and in other nations, for sound environmental practices. As part of this accountability, GE complies with governmental reporting requirements regarding environmental matters. In addition, GE has reached voluntary agreements with government on its remediation responsibility at the great majority of sites which are in the remedial phase and is in discussions on others. Under these circumstances - a substantial Company program and regulatory requirements of localities, states, the federal government and other nations - your Board does not believe that creating the type of report requested by the proponents would help the Company improve its environmental performance. Therefore, your Board recommends a vote against this proposal.