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NY Searches Statewide For Industrial Chemical In Water

WAMC Photo by Dave Lucas

New York environmental regulators are looking statewide for potential sites of groundwater contamination from a cancer-causing chemical previously used to make Teflon and other products.

The Department of Environmental Conservation sent formal surveys last week to more than 150 facilities that may have used PFOA, as well as to fire departments, airports and other facilities that may have used the related chemical PFOS in firefighting foam.

DEC's chief of staff tells The Associated Press the agency will analyze the survey data to determine the need for future site investigations. The surveys are due back by July 15.

The action follows discovery of PFOA in wells in Hoosick Falls and several other communities in eastern New York, Vermont and New Hampshire.

© 2016 AP

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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