Federal probe sought on foam burning
Schumer asks agencies to review impact of incineration in Cohoes
U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer is urging two federal agencies to investigate the impact of Norlite’s incineration of firefighting foam with potentially hazardous PFAS compounds on a nearby public housing complex and the surrounding area.
In letters to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Schumer cited how aqueous film-forming foam containing perfluorocarbon chemicals — or AFFF containing PFAS chemicals — have been “associated with increased risks of cancers and other serious health threats.”
The Cohoes Common Council voted unanimously Tuesday to enact a one-year moratorium that stops Norlite from burning the foam to fuel one of its kilns. The actions by the senator and the council came after Bennington College released a study Monday that found unusually high amounts of PFAS compounds in the soil and water downwind from the Norlite facility.
Schumer asked the agencies to follow up on the Bennington College study to thoroughly investigate the PFAS impact and to coordinate their studies.
“Norlite has been contracted to dispose of a large quantity of AFFF. However, there is serious concerns that these dangerous compounds were not fully destroyed in the incineration process and have been absorbed by the local soil and water sources,” Schumer wrote HUD Secretary Ben Carson.
The Norlite plant is situated near the Saratoga Sites apartments. The Cohoes Housing Authority manages the public housing complex which is home to about 70 families. Norlite is less than a mile from the Hudson River and about two miles from the city of Troy.
Schumer’s letter to EPA Administrator Andrew R. Wheeler cited the environmental agency’s own findings about PFAS, saying: “As EPA has said, the effectiveness of incinerating PFAS is not well understood, but the health effects of PFAS are increasingly well documented.”
The city’s order suspending burning at the facility would take effect this month. Mayor Bill Keeler and the council decided to act after learning about the burning of the chemicals two months ago.
The moratorium is in effect while the EPA, the state Department of Environmental Conservation or other interested parties can recommend that its incineration does not detrimentally impact city residents’ health.
“Our utmost concern must be for the immediate and long-term health and safety of the people of Cohoes and the surrounding area potentially affected by the incineration of AFFF containing these PFAS chemicals,” Keeler said earlier this week.
City residents have rallied to oppose the burning of the foam. Neighboring communities, and Assemblyman John T. Mcdonald III and State Sen. Neil Breslin have also supported Cohoes’ decision.
The state has banned AFFF due to its environmental and public health threats.
Norlite burned the materials to power one of the kilns at its plant to aggregate, or mined rock material used in construction and road building.