BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Amid concerns from the community, about cancer-causing chemical emissions from the Goodyear plant in Niagara Falls, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is set to hold a listening session for the public.
The DEC said this listening session will be an opportunity for the public to ask questions. No date, time nor location have been announced for this listening session. DEC said that information will be announced "soon."
The DEC's announcement of a forthcoming listening session comes after 7 News I-Team reporting on Goodyear, exposing how a cancer-causing chemical is spewing into the air from the nearby Goodyear plant. That chemical is being released into the air at rates higher than current legal standards.
WATCH: 'Getting poisoned': Niagara Falls neighborhood under plume of cancer-causing chemical from Goodyear Tire plant
New York State's own mapping shows, for years, the Goodyear plant has been releasing a known cancer-causing chemical, called "o-toluidine" into the air by up to seven times the current legal standard.
But a spokesperson for the DEC said,
Based on available data, potential emissions from the Goodyear facility have not been shown to pose a significant or immediate risk to public health.
Still, the state imposed a $15,000 civil fine against Goodyear for violations connected to emissions at the plant.
The DEC spokesperson went on to say,
New York State’s health-based ambient-air guidelines for ortho-toluidine are set at levels to protect the public from health effects and are more stringent than federal risk thresholds.
DEC’s Annual Guideline Concentrations (AGC) are not standards and should not be considered a bright line between concentrations that cause health effects and those that do not. Rather they are set at a level to inform permitting decisions and reduce emissions with the best controls available.
New York State Senator Rob Ortt (R, NY-62), told the 7 News I-Team there's been a "total lack of transparency from DEC with the public and public officials", regarding Goodyear.
In a statement, Ortt wrote,
The health and well-being of both employees and the surrounding community is a priority of mine, but apparently not the DEC.
He said his office sent a letter to DEC in September but never heard back until Wednesday. That was the same day our 7 News I-Team investigation aired and a day after a consent order was signed by DEC and Goodyear.
The DEC wrote, "the State is committed to ongoing monitoring and enforcement of environmental regulations to ensure the protection of public health and the environment."
Goodyear has not returned the 7 News I-Team's request for a comment.
