Cohoes residents sue Norlite over toxic emissions
Saratoga Sites complex covered in dust from nearby incinerator
Residents of the affordable housing complex Saratoga Sites have long worried about Norlite, an aggregate plant and incinerator, burning shale and other hazardous waste next door. They worry that the burning emits dust that lands on their cars, windows, and enters their lungs. Now, they’ve gone to court. Attorney Phillip Oswald from Rupp Baase Pfalzgraf Cunningham last week filed a complaint on behalf of the residents who feel their health has been harmed by the fugitive dust emissions from Norlite. The lawsuit seeks monetary relief and measures to monitor, and potentially stop, the emissions, as well as monitor residents’ health.
“The residents here have a right to a clean, fresh and livable environment regardless of race and regardless of income,” Oswald said Friday at a news con
ference. “And that is a fundamental right, that is what this case is about. This is a long-overdue case.”
The complaint alleges that emissions from the plant’s burning are coming into the surrounding communities and that those emissions contain hazardous particulates, crystalline silica quartz, and glass, thereby exposing people to health risks and damaging their property, Oswald said.
The case includes evidence from first-hand observations of many residents and members of the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation, a microscopic analysis of the dust particles coming from Norlite, as well as statements by Norlite and Tradebee, Norlite’s parent company, about the hazardous nature of the dust, Oswald said.
David Walker, a retired Columbia University geology professor who examined the dust, said it contains sharp tiny glass-like shards that can be a respiratory irritant, the Times Union previously reported.
Inhaling the dust can cause serious health problems, including silicosis, a progressive and sometimes fatal lung disease, advocates say.
“I’ve seen my community members get sick, suffer, I’ve seen my friends, my family have to make sacrifices they should not be making because of this facility,” Joe Ritchie, who has lived in the area for 20 years, said at the press conference. “People around here can’t afford to be sick, they can’t afford the constant doctor visits, the constant co-pays,the constant grieving about their health.”
The complaint references the health concerns of nine specific residents, but also is representing approximately 5,600 people that live within a one-mile radius of Norlite, according to court documents.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction including requiring a biomonitoring program of residents’ health and a monitoring program that would stop fugitive dust emissions altogether, as well as some additional remedial measures.
“Norlite already is discussing with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation our plans to improve our dust control technology,” reads a statement from Norlite about plans for litigation. “We will invest the necessary resources to accomplish that goal. A lawsuit is not necessary, but if one is filed, we will respond in court. Our facility has been a part of Cohoes since 1956, and we are committed to being a good neighbor. Community residents who have a question or concern about our facility are encouraged to call us at any time at 518-235-0401.”
“We are also closely scrutinizing all potential sources of fugitive dust, immediately responding to community complaints, and continuing to compile new information in order to hold this facility accountable,” said Sean Mahar, DEC’S Chief of Staff. “We are on top of this and we continue to urge residents to immediately report suspected violations to both DEC at 1-800-4577362 and to Norlite at 518-235-0401.”
Cohoes Mayor Bill Keeler said though he can’t speak to the specifics of the lawsuit, there is no question that fugitive dust from Norlite has been a justifiable neighborhood concern for decades.
“That is why, for more than a year, I have been working with the regulators, state and federal officials, outside experts, and the community to address the problem,” he said. “Though the pace of change has not been as fast as I would hope, we are making progress. The DEC’S February 10th Notices of Violation against Norlite citing fugitive dust violations is clear evidence that community voices are being heard.”
Worries about the dust emissions, which residents say have occurred for decades, were renewed last year when it was found that Norlite in 2018 and 2019 had burned 2.4 million pounds of firefighting foam that contained potentially toxic PFAS orpe rand po ly flu or oct anoic acid, a suspected carcinogen.
PFAS incineration has since been banned in New York.
Earlier this month, the Department of Environmental Conversation released its study of the water and soil around the facility and found no evidence of widespread PFAS chemical contamination.
Bennington Professor David Bond, who was also at the press conference on Friday, said that there are elevated levels of the PFAS compounds at Saratoga Sites and that the DEC’S report masked the fact that PFAS levels are elevated in the area.
“We stand by the design of our study and the conclusions we drew,” said Mahar from the DEC. “These experts have a lot of front-line experience unfortunately in dealing with these emerging contaminants and really know what they are looking at and what they are looking for.”