PFAS testing in Cohoes
Soil, water near plant to be probed for toxins after Norlite’s burning of foam
State Department of Environmental Conservation technicians in coming weeks will take soil and water samples around the Norlite aggregate plant to see if PFAS from firefighting foam incinerated there poses a pollution and possible health threat.
“Soil and water testing is an essential step in getting our community answers they want,” Mayor Bill Keeler said Thursday at a news conference with DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos and lawmakers.
The tests come after revelations earlier in the year that Norlite had incinerated 2.4 million pounds of aqueous film forming foam, or AFFF, in 2018 and 2019.
AFFFS have emerged as a health concern because they contain PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. PFAS, widely used in numerous industries, are associated with health problems including cancers and thyroid ailments. Discovery of similar compounds from nearby chemical plants has prompted an overhaul of the Hoosick Falls water system amid worries about clusters of illnesses there. AFFF
is an effective fire retardant, but it’s being phased out over health concerns.
Norlite has a pair of high temperature kilns to process construction and road-building aggregate from rock it mines on site. The kilns burn a variety of hazardous wastes to heat the aggregate. The burning of AFFF, which is legal, came after the company agreed to collect and dispose of the firefighting foam from military bases and fire departments in the Northeast.
Cohoes has since placed a moratorium on incinerating AFFF, and lawmakers have passed legislation that would ban it entirely in New York.
Working with the state Health Department, DEC
will collect samples from upwind, downwind and background locations to study the potential deposition of contaminants like heavy metals and PFAS. They’ll review the samples to see if there has been contamination. They plan on taking 25 water and 22 soil samples.
Norlite’s incineration permit is up for renewal. Due in part to the AFFF that has been burned there, DEC is treating the renewal as a new permit. Findings of contamination would likely change the guidelines for a permit.
“We’re going to let the data guide us,” Seggos said.
The sampling comes as the federal EPA is determining if AFFF can be safely incinerated. There are concerns over it because AFFF by its very nature as a fire suppres
sant is extremely heat resistant.
In April, Bennington College researchers collected three soil samples and four water samples around the plant. They found PFAS levels were more prevalent downwind, suggesting they weren’t being fully incinerated.
A group involved in that research, which included former EPA regional administrator and Bennington faculty member Judith Enck, in September voiced concerns to DEC about the state testing plan. One worry was that waters around Norlite such as Salt Kill Creek would in part be compared to Patroon Creek, another polluted creek in Albany.
They should use a cleaner creek as a control rather than another pol
luted creek. Just because other polluted areas may contain PFAS doesn’t mean that the Norlite area doesn’t need a cleanup, said Enck.
A DEC letter responding to those worries said “Patroon Creek was selected as a sample location to provide comparison to a similarly situated urban waterway,” but will not be used to determine if the area around Norlite needs a cleanup or other mitigation. DEC noted they also will test another body of water, Schuyler Creek, for sampling.
DEC’S announcement comes as activists continue to push Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign a bill, passed last session, for a permanent AFFF incineration ban.