Senator wants to extend Superfund to radiological contamination sites
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The state Senate's minority leader wants to include radiological hot spots in Niagara and Erie counties in the Superfund program.
DEC and EPA assessment teams continue to inspect potential radiological hot spots in Niagara and Erie counties. Western New York was a hub for the manufacturing of atomic weapon components during World War II and other industries using or producing radiological materials, using materials that contained naturally occurring radioactive material.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is continuing its cleanup and investigation work at Niagara County properties where radioactive slag material fill was discovered in soil on the properties. Recently completed cleanups have taken place at four properties on Niagara Falls Boulevard from 2016 through 2020, material found on Upper Mountain Road in Lewiston that was part of remediation in 2020, 2021 and 2023, the Holy Trinity Cemetery site in Lewiston that was cleaned up in 2021 and the Donovan Head Start property in Niagara Falls that was remediated in 2023.
Late Sunday the EPA and DEC said in a joint news release that more than 1,240 properties have been visited since July 23 with 797 access forms received to date. On Saturday, joint DEC and EPA teams screened 30 properties and collected samples on one property. Surveying and sampling continued Sunday. Once an on-site radiological survey is complete, the data is brought back to the DEC, EPA and state Health Department experts to analyze the data and determine if additional assessment is needed.
Preliminary data reviews indicate that the vast majority of properties screened will need no further action.
Sen. Rob Ortt, R-Buffalo and Senate minority leader, has introduced legislation (S.10672) that would amend the state Environmental Conservation Law in relation to radioactive waste disposal. Currently, the state's Hazardous Waste Superfund program does not cover radiological contamination – and a Superfund cannot be declared for radiological contamination remediation. Ortt's bill requires nuclear and radioactive waste to be considered hazardous waste so that impacted sites can be remediated using funds from the Hazardous Waste Superfund.
"Making crucial changes to the state's Superfund law to include the radiological materials discovered in Niagara County will allow the DEC to use all the resources available to them to assist homeowners during this process. It is paramount these amendments are made so that additional resources be made available, for my constituents affected by radiological contamination," Ortt said.
Ortt is working to find an Assembly co-sponsor for the bill.
According to the DEC and EPA, Preliminary data reviews indicate that the vast majority of properties screened will need no further action. EPA and DEC officials will contact residents and property owners when screening results and a property-specific technical review are complete to advise when no further action is needed at this time. Notifications to residents and property owners will be forwarded on a continuing basis as the data is reviewed. The initial notification will be followed up in the coming weeks with a more detailed information packet by mail that will include a formal letter of determination, a copy of the property's screening map, fact sheet, and frequently asked questions with contact information.
Where additional investigation is needed, EPA and NYSDEC are working directly with property owners and residents to schedule and complete additional assessment activities, which may include additional radiological scans, air sampling, and soil sampling. Staff also remain in direct contact with four residential properties offering voluntary temporary relocation, providing updates, discussing next steps, and helping connect them with available support.
Ortt also sent a letter to Amanda Lefton, state DEC commissioner, calling on her to direct the DEC to issue a written "clean bill of health" confirmation to property owners whenever the DEC tests their property for radioactive contamination and determines that radioactive levels are within acceptable standards and do not pose a threat to public health.
"Recent reports declaring that hundreds of properties have potentially dangerous levels of radioactive contamination has some Western New Yorkers scared – and affected homeowners want to have documentation from agency officials confirming that their properties are indeed safe. Establishing a system where homeowners can have physical documentation to point to showing that their property is safe would go a long way to providing peace of mind after a difficult and unsettling situation like this," Ortt said.
The U.S. Department of Energy surveyed the Niagara Region in 1978 by aerial surveillance for radiation and found low levels of radioactive materials at these locations. It is believed that in the early 1960s, a glass-like, granulated by-product called, "slag" from former industrial facilities was used as fill material at these specific properties. The fill material contained "technically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials", which are industrial by-products enriched with low levels of radioactive elements found in the environment. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York State Department of Health surveyed these properties and referred them to EPA.