This really bothers me, as both a computer nerd and environmentalist. =/
By SAMME CHITTUM (nytimes.com)
NDICOTT, N.Y. - This village, best known as the birthplace of I.B.M., has an unusual look these days. Venting systems, with white plastic tubing that runs from basements to roofs, sprout from 377 houses and businesses.
Many houses are for sale, but there are few buyers.
"This area is taboo now," said Tim Davis, who lives on Monroe Avenue. "And it's going to stay that way."
Mr. Davis lives in what residents call "the plume" - 320 acres encompassing the downtown and stretching across the village, all of which were polluted by industrial toxic substances. The chemicals contaminated soil and leached into groundwater. And they continue to produce vapors that waft into hundreds of basements.
Occurring over decades, the pollution is traceable at least in part to I.B.M., which used common solvents in its circuit board assembly.
The venting systems were all paid for by I.B.M., which two decades ago employed 12,000 workers in Endicott, just west of Binghamton. Now 1,700 collect I.B.M. paychecks here. Still, residents say they feel trapped in virtually unsalable homes, where they fear the prolonged effects of the vapors on the health of their families.
"Your house acts as a kind of chimney" for the vapors, which have tested positive for the contaminant trichloroethene, or TCE, said Alan Turnbull, 69, who in 2002 created the Residents Action Group of Endicott, also known as R.A.G.E., after his wife, Donna Turnbull, 57, was found to have throat cancer. Ms. Turnbull does not smoke, and she used to exercise regularly in her finished basement. Now, she rarely ventures down the basement stairs.
That the TCE found in Endicott, a suspected carcinogen, has been measured at very low levels is scant comfort to those worried about more than two decades of exposure. "Oh, sure, we're scared to death," said Ms. Turnbull, who has lived in her Cleveland Avenue home for 21 years. "We know the chemicals are dangerous, but we don't know how dangerous or the long-term effects."
Results of air quality tests from homes in 2002 prompted the state environmental officials to announce in January that the Endicott pollution was more serious than previously believed.
The State Department of Environmental Conservation said it would upgrade Endicott's status from Class 4 - meaning that the pollution source is no longer a problem, but is still being monitored - to Class 2 - a significant threat to the environment or health. The reclassification, backed by United States Representative Maurice Hinchey, a Democrat who represents the area, was a victory for citizen groups.
Despite the change, state health officials cannot say whether air or water pollution in Endicott has actually caused any health problems.
Village officials say tests show that the water is safe to drink.
And the venting systems are effective, according to Michael Fraser, a spokesman for the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Still, many residents remain pessimistic.
"This is going to become a dead town, no doubt about it," said Matt Latessa, 62, who owns a house in the plume and a men's hair salon on Monroe Avenue. Aging business owners such as Mr. Latessa, who wants to move to Florida, and families that bought starter homes in the plume feel trapped.
"We're being held hostage," he said.
Along with for-sale signs on front lawns, the venting systems, which emit a humming sound, have become a fact of life. Mr. Davis's house on Monroe Avenue, in the heart of the plume, is one of those that is vented.
"If you noticed, there's a Remax sign in front of my home," said Mr. Davis, who is troubled by persistent eye irritation. "I put it there instantly" after learning of the vapor problem, he said, but he added that he has had no offers for the house.
Mr. Fraser said vapor intrusion was one of the factors that made the Endicott situation unique.
"In past years, the guidance provided to regulatory agencies indicated that established cleanup levels were also protective for indoor air," Mr. Fraser said. "Advances in science and technology have recently shown that vapor intrusion concerns can accompany TCE-contaminated groundwater at very low levels."
By SAMME CHITTUM (nytimes.com)
NDICOTT, N.Y. - This village, best known as the birthplace of I.B.M., has an unusual look these days. Venting systems, with white plastic tubing that runs from basements to roofs, sprout from 377 houses and businesses.
Many houses are for sale, but there are few buyers.
"This area is taboo now," said Tim Davis, who lives on Monroe Avenue. "And it's going to stay that way."
Mr. Davis lives in what residents call "the plume" - 320 acres encompassing the downtown and stretching across the village, all of which were polluted by industrial toxic substances. The chemicals contaminated soil and leached into groundwater. And they continue to produce vapors that waft into hundreds of basements.
Occurring over decades, the pollution is traceable at least in part to I.B.M., which used common solvents in its circuit board assembly.
The venting systems were all paid for by I.B.M., which two decades ago employed 12,000 workers in Endicott, just west of Binghamton. Now 1,700 collect I.B.M. paychecks here. Still, residents say they feel trapped in virtually unsalable homes, where they fear the prolonged effects of the vapors on the health of their families.
"Your house acts as a kind of chimney" for the vapors, which have tested positive for the contaminant trichloroethene, or TCE, said Alan Turnbull, 69, who in 2002 created the Residents Action Group of Endicott, also known as R.A.G.E., after his wife, Donna Turnbull, 57, was found to have throat cancer. Ms. Turnbull does not smoke, and she used to exercise regularly in her finished basement. Now, she rarely ventures down the basement stairs.
That the TCE found in Endicott, a suspected carcinogen, has been measured at very low levels is scant comfort to those worried about more than two decades of exposure. "Oh, sure, we're scared to death," said Ms. Turnbull, who has lived in her Cleveland Avenue home for 21 years. "We know the chemicals are dangerous, but we don't know how dangerous or the long-term effects."
Results of air quality tests from homes in 2002 prompted the state environmental officials to announce in January that the Endicott pollution was more serious than previously believed.
The State Department of Environmental Conservation said it would upgrade Endicott's status from Class 4 - meaning that the pollution source is no longer a problem, but is still being monitored - to Class 2 - a significant threat to the environment or health. The reclassification, backed by United States Representative Maurice Hinchey, a Democrat who represents the area, was a victory for citizen groups.
Despite the change, state health officials cannot say whether air or water pollution in Endicott has actually caused any health problems.
Village officials say tests show that the water is safe to drink.
And the venting systems are effective, according to Michael Fraser, a spokesman for the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Still, many residents remain pessimistic.
"This is going to become a dead town, no doubt about it," said Matt Latessa, 62, who owns a house in the plume and a men's hair salon on Monroe Avenue. Aging business owners such as Mr. Latessa, who wants to move to Florida, and families that bought starter homes in the plume feel trapped.
"We're being held hostage," he said.
Along with for-sale signs on front lawns, the venting systems, which emit a humming sound, have become a fact of life. Mr. Davis's house on Monroe Avenue, in the heart of the plume, is one of those that is vented.
"If you noticed, there's a Remax sign in front of my home," said Mr. Davis, who is troubled by persistent eye irritation. "I put it there instantly" after learning of the vapor problem, he said, but he added that he has had no offers for the house.
Mr. Fraser said vapor intrusion was one of the factors that made the Endicott situation unique.
"In past years, the guidance provided to regulatory agencies indicated that established cleanup levels were also protective for indoor air," Mr. Fraser said. "Advances in science and technology have recently shown that vapor intrusion concerns can accompany TCE-contaminated groundwater at very low levels."
