The Legislative Gazette Oct 6, 2014 By KEITH J. FERRANTE, Gazette staff writer
According to a report submitted September 30 to the
state Department of Environmental Conservation, residents of Albany's
south end neighborhood face a significantly greater risk of cancer and
other diseases because of chronic exposure to toxic pollutants
associated with crude oil operations.
The report was written by
Dr. David Carpenter, the director of the Institute for Health and the
Environment at the State University of New York at Albany.
According to the DEC's own air quality monitoring data in the area, benzene levels exceed the long-term health standard. Benzene is a known human carcinogen.
Carpenter's report criticizes DEC's August 2014 conclusion that the air in the South End does not raise a public concern. The results indicate that benzene levels in 20 out of 21 air samples exceeded the long-term benzene exposure standard, and the mean value for all samples is nearly three times the long-term benzene standard. The report also says that benzene is only one of a number of toxic pollutants, called volatile organic compounds, that were measured at high levels in the area....
According to the DEC's own air quality monitoring data in the area, benzene levels exceed the long-term health standard. Benzene is a known human carcinogen.
Carpenter's report criticizes DEC's August 2014 conclusion that the air in the South End does not raise a public concern. The results indicate that benzene levels in 20 out of 21 air samples exceeded the long-term benzene exposure standard, and the mean value for all samples is nearly three times the long-term benzene standard. The report also says that benzene is only one of a number of toxic pollutants, called volatile organic compounds, that were measured at high levels in the area....
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