November 5, 2009

 

ELMIRA HEIGHTS --- Thursday night, Weitz and Luxenburg, a law firm out of New York City, held a public meeting to hear concerns and answer questions about possible TCE contamination in an Elmira Heights neighborhood.
     In 1983, the EPA started an extensive remediation effort at the Facet-Purolator facility on Route 14 in Elmira Heights.
     It lasted nearly two decades, but in 2007 the EPA was back for more.
     It started testing homes for vapor intrusion from trichloroethylene, or TCE, an industrial solvent.
     “They have found elevated levels of contamination in the homes in both of those neighborhoods on both sides of railroad tracks,” said Weitz & Luxenberg attorney, Hadley Matarazzo.
     Attorneys say out of about 100 tested homes, nearly twenty had high levels of TCE.
     Trichloroethylene is a carcinogen that can cause cancer and pose other serious health risks.
     Sherry Main is convinced her husband got cancer from living less than two blocks from Motor Components, the former Purolator facility.
     “What future I had with my husband is gone,” Main said. “ What future I had at that house is gone, when you work all of your life and it’s gone through no fault of your own because someone else has contaminated the area.”
     Some neighbors say they're worried about plummeting property values, while landlords are concerned about renting to families with young children.
     “I think it’s really important the community stands together and stands up for this kind of thing and says it’s not acceptable,” Matarazzo added.
     Although it's only the very beginning of this investigation, the law firm wants to file claims by the end of the year.
     WENY-TV News was unable to reach officials at Motor Components for comment.