TOWN OF TONAWANDA — As the Department of Environmental Conservation’s air study in the town nears completion, Sen. Charles Schumer is requesting more money to keep it going.
The DEC planned to operate the four monitoring sites near the town’s industrial area for one year to collect data from all seasons, weather conditions and traffic patterns.
Levels of the carcinogen benzene are recommended not to exceed 0.13 micrograms per cubic meter, but at a March meeting for nearby residents the DEC said the Sheridan Park monitor had the lowest level at about 1.0. Grand Island Boulevard, nearest the industrial complex, overwhelmingly had the highest at more than 11.0.
While those numbers aren’t entirely unique according to the DEC, Schumer is asking the Environmental Protection Agency to fund an extension of the study, which the agency supported with a $300,000 grant in 2007.
“With the health and safety of Tonawanda residents at risk, now is not the time to short change our efforts to get to the bottom of this very serious contamination,” Schumer said. “One hundred times the state limit is unacceptable and we need the EPA to provide all the necessary resources to monitor the status and determine the source of this threat.”
The monitors were originally positioned to locate the source of the emissions so that engineers could propose ways to reduce the health risk. Right now, none of the area’s industrial polluters are exceeding their limit for output, but that doesn’t mean the DEC can’t regulate further, said Dan David, regional environmental quality engineer.
“If individual sources meet the permit limit and it’s determined some sources still need to be cut back, we have the authority to do that,” David said.
But the DEC has to find out where the benzene is coming from before even starting on a plan for remediation. Benzene is a carcinogen emitted from the production, burning and storage of oil and gasoline. There are several potential sources for benzene pollution in the town, including traditional smokestack byproducts, traffic emissions and the storage of petroleum products, David said.
“If they need better controls on storage tanks, those efforts will depend on how their storage is done,” David said. “If it’s the product of an industrial process, there are actions ranging from changing some of the raw materials all the way to some type of end pipe control.”
The data collected over the past year will be used in a modeling process to determine which areas are the largest sources of contaminants. That work will be done at the DEC offices in Albany, but representatives hadn’t returned calls as of press time to discuss a timetable for the work’s completion.
Contact reporter Daniel Pye at 693-1000, ext. 158.
News Refresh
July 15, 2008
TUESDAY: Air quality draws concern (6:55 p.m.)
ENVIRONMENT: Sen. Charles Schumer is pushing to keep the Tonawanda air study going.
- News Refresh
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TOWN OF TONAWANDA: Ostanski pleads guilty to theft
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WEATHER: Driving ban in North Tonawanda, elsewhere
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LAY OFFS: Seneca Gaming Corp. to cut 210 jobs
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