Hoosick Falls Officials Stayed Silent on Toxic Water

Click on the 'Listen' button above to hear this interview.

Residents in the small town of Hoosick Falls, New York, got bad news last week. Back in February, many in the community got blood tests to determine if they had been exposed to the chemical PFOA. The results now show that many residents have elevated levels of the chemical in their blood — sometimes up to 50 or 100 times the national average. 

PFOA was manufactured at a local factory owned by Saint Gobain and was used in everything from pizza boxes to water proof jackets. Studies have linked it to diseases like cancer. 

Alarmingly, Department of Health officials knew Hoosick Falls' water was contaminated months before coming public with that information, despite urging from the EPA to alert residents.

In February, The Takeaway spoke with Michael Hickey, a Hoosick resident who himself tested the drinking water for PFOA after his father died of cancer.

"The EPA came out with a letter. They were saying, 'Don't drink with it, don't cook with it,'" said Hickey. "And yet, the Department of Health was giving out a letter at the same meeting that we were at saying that the chemical was completely fine and it's safe up to 50,000 parts per trillion."

Now, residents like Loreen Hackett, along with her family, are learning that they have elevated levels of PFOA in their blood streams. They're asking why they were not notified earlier, and are demanding that the New York State Assembly look into their case. Click on the 'Listen' button above to hear our full conversation with Loreen.