The Vermont locations are 3 miles from the village of Hoosick Falls, New York, where the water system was found to be contaminated with the same chemical traced to a Saint-Gobain factory that used PFOA in non-stick coatings.
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The contamination of the potentially cancer causing chemical known as PFOA was found in water from private wells for three homes in North Bennington, a business and the non-potable water supply for a waste water treatment plant.
During a press conference announcing the creation of the task force, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo promised that groundwater testing will be comprehensive, and will, for example, include testing of salinity levels near salt mines in Orleans County and the North country, and PCB contamination on Long Island.
The lawsuit against Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics and Honeywell International was filed on behalf of four residents of Hoosick Falls, who claim they were exposed to the hazardous chemical and that the value of their properties has been diminished by the pollution.
Saint-Gobain is providing free bottled water while a new village filtration system is being installed. A similar discovery in Hoosick Falls, New York, earlier this month was blamed on nearby manufacturing plants.
Shumlin emphasized – and Alyssa Schuren, the commissioner of environmental conservation, reiterated – that state officials took immediate action.
“Moreover, the state must hold the polluters responsible for their actions”, Sanders said in a statement. “We just got the results a few hours ago”. A Health Department report said levels of PFOA that are considered safe for human consumption were found in several private wells, including at the Falls Diner restaurant on Route 22.
“The number seems high, but it’s parts per trillion”, Schwer said. “We don’t drink the water, we never have, so we aren’t concerned in that regard”, said Pembroke. Testing is being conducted on those wells and residents are being provided drinking water. It’s been linked to cancer, is the subject of numerous lawsuits, and many scientists and activists are calling for stricter regulation.
The chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid, would likely have been emitted from a smokestack at the ChemFab plant and would have been been deposited with water vapor near the factory, officials said.
“We think it’s the same responsible party as in NY, and we have reached out to the ChemFab company”, the governor said. They’re getting carbon filters paid for the state Superfund.
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In December, the EPA told the 4,500 Hoosick Falls residents who use the village system to stop drinking the water.
