LEWISTON, N.Y. - Some encouraging news for Leroy residents concerned about chemical contamination from a decades old chemical spill.
The EPA said Friday only one of 80 drums tested so far from the Lehigh Valley Railroad Derailment Superfund site was found to have any chemical residue, and that the amount was below health based levels.
The December 1970 spill resulted in the release of liquid trichloroethene (TCE) and cyanide crystals. The material in the drums was tested for these and other chemicals. A trace amount of TCE was detected in one drum and there was no detectable levels of cyanide in any of them.
Testing for the remainder of the drums is ongoing and those results will be made public when they are complete.
Some residents are concerned contamination from the spill may be responsible for a tic-related illness among at least 18 teens in Leroy.
Officials from Niagara County have refused a plan to relocate the 240 barrels from the site in Le Roy to a CWM Chemical facility located near the Lewiston-Porter School District.
A statement released by State Senator George Maziarz, Assemblyman John Ceretto, and Lewiston-Porter Superintendent Chris Roser, said that federal officials would need to look somewhere else to relocate the waste.
The refusal comes after officials from Congresswoman Hochul, and Senators Gillibrand and Schumer's office announced they had made an agreement with the EPA to remove the barrels from the Superfund site by the end of the month.
Maziarz's office says that the CWM facility decided against accepting the materials after discussions with officials.
WGRZ