Source: http://www.twcnews.com, February 10,2017
By: Geoff Redick
The small Rensselaer County village rocked by a contaminated water crisis in 2016 is now facing the spectre of more chemicals, this time found in the village’s air.
The news, published Thursday evening on the village website, comes from Honeywell International, a company that once operated a factory in Hoosick Falls producing laminate materials. The now-demolished factory, which once sat along John Street and Lyman Street, is believed to be partly responsible for leaching PFOA carcinogens into the village water supply.
During routine soil and groundwater testing at the site, Honeywell reported to the New York State Department of Health that it had detected levels of volatile organic compounds in the air, which exceeded state-mandated guidelines. The compounds, also called VOCs, are found in some common household items and dry cleaning facilities, according to Honeywell. But in large enough amounts, VOCs have been known to cause cancer and damage the human nervous system.
The state announced Thursday that it will mandate air testing at the John Street site beginning immediately. Honeyweill will be forced to offer voluntary air quality testing to a handful of homes around the site; homeowners who find positive results will be given free air treatment equipment, provided by Honeywell.
In all, 39 homes in the immediate area are being asked to participate in air quality testing.
However, some Hoosick Falls residents felt forgotten by the new announcement. Loreen Hackett, who lived adjacent to the John Street site during the 1990s, said no one has contacted her about the four years she may have been breathing the same chemicals.
“I had my daughter while I was in that house,” said Hackett, who now lives in a part of the village not believed to have been affected by the airborne contaminants. “I shudder to think of her crawling around on that front lawn, when the factory was still operating.”
Hackett reviewed the materials on the village website Thursday evening, but noted that they contained no solid numerical data, and no explanation of what amounts of VOCs are safe, unsafe, harmful or even deadly.
The documents provided by the village, which are being mailed to homeowners, did not include details on what levels of VOCs were found at the site — only that they “exceeded” guidelines set by the state.
“It’s been so long since I lived down ther, but it’s in the back of my mind now,” Hackett said. “We need more answers.”
Village mayor David Borge was unavailable for interviews Thursday, but released a statement saying that the village will discuss the new contamination issue at its February 14 meeting. Honeywell representatives are expected to attend.
“The village appreciates New York State and Honeywell taking these additional measures to ensure the well-being of our residents and businesses in the area,” Borge said.
Borge and village leaders are currently nearing a legal settlement with Honeywell, along with another company, Saint Gobain Performance Plastics, which has also been implicated for PFOA contamination in village water. According to an FAQ on the village website, the settlement deals specifically with PFOA in the water supply, and would not preclude further legal action based on any new contaminants in the air.
Environmental attorney David Engel, who represents the group “Healthy Hoosick Water,” said on Friday that if contamination is found at severe levels, the state and Honeywell should be able to remediate it.
“There are readily available, proven technologies to abate those conditions,” Engel said. “They will essentially scoot the stuff away, much in the same way that you could abate a radon problem in a basement.”
Engel said every resident who receives an offer should voluntarily participate in testing.
“The responsible thing to do is to have a full investigation and see if any remedial response is necessary,” he said. “So everyone should cooperate. Let’s get the testing done, and let’s see what the numbers show.”