TOWN OF TONAWANDA: Ill residents fear pollution is cause
Staff Reports The Tonawanda News
DuPont Avenue residents who are falling ill believe nearby industrial plants are the cause.
Health department and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation officials are looking into complaints that odors and soot are making residents sick.
Mary Moore and other DuPont Avenue residents have been experiencing nausea, headaches and loss of appetite due to the air quality, especially at night and in the early morning when the odors are the worst.
Cindy Kohler, who lives blocks away, also fell ill Wednesday evening and had to be hospitalized with similar symptoms. The next day she discovered a half-inch wide band of soot in her pool filter.
Norma Gimo, another DuPont Avenue resident, said the problems have been escalating in the 40 years she’s lived on the street.
“I raised my kids here, they went to Holmes Elementary before they cleaned that place up with all the toxic waste,” Gimo said. “They’ve have had respiratory problems all their lives.”
The DEC refused to comment on who is responsible for the pollutants before proper testing can be done. DEC Environmental Engineer Al Carlacci was at Moore’s house Thursday taking samples and asking questions. He said tracking the wind patterns will help reveal where the emissions are coming from.
“If you can pick out an odor and notice the wind direction, it will take you right to the source,” Carlacci said.
The DEC installed air monitors in the town last July to examine the contents of the air at different times and on each day of the week. The findings included a higher than normal level of the carcinogen benzene.
Gimo said she’s hopeful all of the increased scrutiny will change the air for the better. But more than finding out who’s responsible, Moore said she just wants the problems to stop.
“I have to live here,” Moore said. “These are my lungs, my children and my grandchildren.”
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