Overview
- DEC and the EPA said Tuesday that crews have screened hundreds of properties and that four Niagara County homes have reached the threshold for intrusive soil sampling, prompting temporary relocations.
- Field teams use a two-step gamma detector process where a second instrument must confirm a high reading before crews collect soil for laboratory analysis.
- Officials report preliminary elevated thorium readings at some sites but emphasize that soil lab tests, which can take about six weeks, are required to confirm the specific contaminants.
- Residents have reported very high indoor and yard readings, formed local groups pushing for transparency and a Class 1 Superfund designation, and criticized an earlier DEC letter that included a liability waiver now removed.
- The region’s mid-20th-century nuclear and metallurgy history provides possible sources investigators are considering, and agencies say they will offer temporary housing, hold public meetings, and publish data as testing and analysis continue.