[CPEO-BIF] Tests inside Endicott IBM plant, plus editorial

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

[Note: OSHA's Permissible Exposure Levels are several orders of
magnitude higher than the environmental standards for volatile organic
compounds in indoor air in occupational settings, and U.S. EPA, Cal-EPA,
and others have found that they are inappropriate for sites where the
source is underlying groundwater or soil contamination. - LS]

DEC tests air inside former IBM plant

3,600 now work at Huron campus

BY TOM WILBER
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin (NY)
February 9, 2005

ENDICOTT -- State environmental investigators are testing air inside and
under the former IBM plant on North Street this week to see if
subterranean pollution is entering buildings. 

 The work, expected to continue through the month, is part of a
comprehensive plan by state health and environmental officials
evaluating the impact of subterranean plumes of industrial solvents,
from IBM and other undetermined sources, in the village and the Town of
Union. 

IBM, however, said subterranean testing is unnecessary. 

Spokesman Todd Martin said Tuesday that indoor air sampling by IBM in
2001 and 2002 showed air quality at the North Street plant met standards
set by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Testing by the state Department of Environmental Conservation to
determine levels of chemicals under the buildings is unnecessary because
it will shed no light on air quality inside the buildings, Martin said
in a prepared statement. 

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.pressconnects.com/today/news/stories/ne020905s147000.shtml

See also the February 9, 2005 editorial at
http://www.pressconnects.com/today/opinion/stories/op020905s146967.shtml

Editorial: Tracking TCE; pollution standards should be standardized

Trichloroethylene is a solvent used to clean metal parts. It's a
chemical many Tier residents have heard of in the past few years in
connection with underground pollution in Endicott, Hillcrest and other
sites. 

...

Why would the Environmental Protection Agency set the acceptable
exposure limit of TCE gases for East Fishkill at 0.38 micrograms per
cubic meter of indoor air but the state Department of Health is allowed
to set the guideline for Broome's sites at 5 micrograms? To allow more
than 10 times the exposure for Broome residents is frightening,
especially when dealing with the unknown carcinogenic consequences of
that added amount. 

...

TCE pollution is not a new concern -- it's been a problem for years.
It's time the state and national governments concur on a universal
standard for exposure limits. With time weighing against those who have
been exposed to TCE, let's make this a national priority now. 

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org
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