TOWN OF NIAGARA — Private testing performed in the yard of Fox Avenue homeowner Carolyn Johnson showed radioactivity levels more than 120 times higher than federal public exposure standards and 1,200 times greater than New York state soil cleanup guidelines.
Johnson and Lexie Hawk, a neighbor whose Chester Avenue property is also suspected of containing high levels of radioactive material, renewed their call on Friday for Gov. Kathy Hochul and state environmental regulators from the New York Department of Conservation to do something about it, and quickly.
Johnson and Hawk led a press conference at John Nielsen Park where they again asked Hochul to declare their neighborhood a state Superfund site and to accommodate requests for relocations to safer confines. They want similar accommodations for 120 families who received requests to access private property for additional testing by the DEC. They maintain the state should have stepped in years ago to protect all residents impacted by what some press conference attendees described as a “radioactive Love Canal.”
Friday’s press conference followed the delivery of a letter to Hochul on July 7, in which both homeowners called for her office to intervene on their behalf.
In a statement released in response to questions from the newspaper, Ken Lovett, Hochul’s senior communications advisor on energy and the environment, noted, as the DEC has said in the past, residents have been asked to allow radiological testing to be performed on their private property as part of an ongoing joint investigation involving the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Lovett said the assessment work is being done “out of an abundance of caution based on the region’s industrial legacy.”
Lovett also described protecting the public health and safety of New Yorkers as Hochul’s “top priority,” adding that the DEC, EPA and health department continue to work closely with property owners and local governments to investigate any areas needing additional data to help determine next steps.
“New York State will work with EPA to take any necessary actions to ensure communities are protected,” Lovett said.
SURVEY LAUNCHED
The DEC and EPA launched the Niagara and Erie County Radiological Assessment in Niagara and Erie counties several years ago. The process started with aerial survey work in 2023 and progressed to additional surveying using truck-based equipment. The 120 property owners receiving requests to perform additional on-site testing were identified based on the findings of those earlier surveys, the results of which have, so far, not been made public or released to impacted property owners like Johnson and Hawk who have requested them.
Hawk bought her home five years ago. She said her backyard leads to a wooded area near Gill Creek Park. The mother of a 3-year-old said she thought the home would be an ideal place to raise a family, but that all changed in May when she received a request from the DEC to access her property for radiological testing.
“My first question was: if they were concerned about my property, why did it take two years to tell me?” she said. “Why was I left to unknowingly allow my now-3-year-old to run around my backyard? We have gardens, we have bonfires and the ground under us could have been contaminated.”
The DEC and EPA have offered to perform on-site testing using hand-held detection equipment and have expressed interest in collecting samples and performing photographic documentation on private properties targeted for additional review.
Both Johnson and Hawk decried the state’s willingness to conduct testing on their properties only if they agreed to sign forms waiving their rights to proceed with “any and all claims” they may have “now or in the future to seek or receive reimbursement” from the DEC, the EPA or the state of New York.
PUSHING BACK
Local environmental attorney Christen Civiletto, who has been working with homeowners affected by the state and federal radiological assessment, questioned the state’s request for signed waivers in exchange for testing, saying she believes the practice may be illegal.
“This is very concerning because this is coercion,” She said. “If it’s a choice between signing a waiver and waiving your rights and your family’s health and safety, that’s not a reasonable choice,” she said.
Johnson said her concerns about her family’s health and safety were heightened after she received results from scintillation detector tests performed on her property by a team that included local filmmaker Stephen Powell, Anne Rabe, a representative from the environmental group Don’t Waste NY and Rabe’s husband, retired research scientist Randall Weinberg.
Calculations from the group’s testing were reviewed by Dr. Michael E. Ketterer, an analytical chemist and professor emeritus of chemistry and biochemistry from North Arizona University.
A summary of test results provided to the media on Friday showed 120 millisievert — a commonly used unit of radiation dose — per year, which Johnson’s research group contends put parts of her property at 120 times above the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s public exposure standard of 1 millisievert per year and 1,2000 times the DEC’s soil cleanup standard of 0.1 millisievert per year.
Powell cautioned that the measurements represent field screening observations only and do not identify the source or type of radiation present, nor do they constitute a determination of contamination. He said confirmatory testing and analysis by qualified professionals is needed to determine the nature and significance of the readings.
“Shortly after stepping onto one of the properties, the detector sounded its radiation alarm after only a few steps,” said Powell, producer of the Love Canal landfill documentary “Contaminated. “To verify the reading, I checked the instrument, confirmed it was operating correctly and reset the alarm. The detector alarmed again under the same conditions. A second radiation detector carried for comparison also registered elevated readings.”
STATE RESPONSES
In a statement issued by the DEC, spokesperson John Salka said the DEC and EPA are “prioritizing” community safety while continuing the “significant” progress underway in the Niagara and Erie County Radiological Assessment. He also said the DEC is working closely with the Department of Health to immediately assess risks as survey results become available. He stressed that the assessment work is being done under an “abundance of caution.”
Salka said the DEC and EPA are continuing to request access from identified private property owners for testing and will be sharing property-specific data to participating landowners, while also making experts available to help interpret the analyzed data as it becomes available. He said the agencies will also continue working with individual property owners to address questions and other data needs during the efforts to obtain site access for follow-up surveys. In addition, plans are underway for a public meeting this summer to provide an update on the survey’s next steps.
“To date, agency reviews confirm that there is no acute health risk from publicly accessible areas in public rights of way. Additional survey results are being analyzed by EPA and the agencies would pursue resources to conduct any necessary cleanups that pose a threat to communities,” Salka said.
Several elected officials and candidates for public office attended Friday’s announcement, with all of them pledging their commitment to helping affected residents receive more attention from Hochul’s office and the state.
Niagara County Legislature Minority Leader Jeffrey Elder, D-Niagara Falls, said he’s been in contact with the governor’s office and has encouraged Hochul to support residents’ request for relocation and
“As a person who grew up in Love Canal right here in Niagara Falls, this is personal for me, so, of course, I’m definitely going to be an advocate to make sure we get this taken care of,” Elder said.
Matt Wrobel, a representative from U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer’s office, said during the press conference that his office has been in contact with state and federal environmental officials and supports residents in their efforts to obtain more information.
“There needs to be a clear dialogue between the group here and the DEC and very concrete solutions need to come out of that discussion,” Wrobel said.
Following the press conference, Schumer’s office issued a statement on the senator’s behalf in which he said home and business owners need full information, transparency and cooperative action with state and federal regulators.
“The community deserves a fully public and comprehensive testing program to define more precisely the extent, severity, and source of this concerning pollution, and any potential health risks. Then, based on the results, they need a real plan to promptly address the implications of this information,” Schumer said in his statement.
Sean Mapp, the endorsed Republican challenging Elder for his Fourth District Niagara County Legislature seat, questioned why no one from the governor’s office attended Friday’s gathering and said it’s up to local officials to push Hochul to take immediate action to address the concerns of affected residents.
“I think it’s despicable,” he said, referring to the response from the governor’s office.
Although he did not attend Friday’s press conference, state Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, R-North Tonawanda, issued a statement, saying serious questions need to be asked of the DEC and the EPA about the potentially harmful waste being detected in Niagara County. He said he has had calls with representatives from the DEC and the EPA to discuss the situation.
“The New York State DEC, DOH and the EPA owe the people of Niagara County a full explanation of where these properties are located, what impacts to health this has had on past and present residents of these areas, and what plans are in place to remediate these dangerous conditions,” Ortt said.