What is causing radioactive contamination in Niagara?

[00:00:00]At 5:30, testing [music] continues in the town of Niagara after radiological contamination was found at several homes up there. News 4 Investigates found contamination inside two homes late last week, and the EPA relocated four families because of the risk.

[00:00:14]>> Today, equipment was moved on site to begin excavating yards and properties for further testing and more work in the future. We've been covering this from every angle, but no one longer than our investigative reporter and producer, Dan Telvock. Dan, thanks for joining us.

[00:00:26]Obviously, this is a huge, huge story, one that is so emotion-filled, especially given like what we saw last night. Um first, we talked about in the intro about the relocation of these four families. Can you talk about what that process looks like right now?

[00:00:40]>> Well, you know, the EP the EPA administrator said yesterday that, you know, this this can't be done overnight. You know, they there's there's different things people need. They have pets, they, you know, what allergies, it could be all kinds of things. So, he said that, you know, sometimes they have to find uh places they can stay temporarily before they find more permanent, still temporarily, but longer stays. And it, you know, that doesn't take 24 hours, it takes more than 24 hours, 48 hours. So, I they're still searching for locations, you know, and some of these folks are are staying at their parents' house, you know, so that's what's happening right now. But, they'll find locations.

[00:01:17]>> All right, a big question is where is this contamination coming from?

[00:01:22]>> Okay, so they believe it's one of two sources. One could be from metallurgical companies who would heat stone, extract what they needed from that stone, elements that they needed, and leftover would be all of this waste byproduct that looks like gravel. They call it slag, right? Well, it's if it's gravel, they were giving it, selling it to contractors, and they were using it as base for roads. They were using it for bases, driveways, under homes, fill for yards, you know, anything that you need fill or gravel for, you can think that it could be in those locations. Or the Manhattan Project.

[00:01:59]Now, they're not going to be able to know until they determine from the soil test what isotopes are in the soil.

[00:02:04]Then, you know, cuz there will be fingerprints that they can match to where it possibly came from. So, those are the two sources they believe it could be from. But, they don't know yet.

[00:02:13]>> One quick follow-up.

[00:02:14]How long were those companies doing that work in Niagara County and just giving away that that waste byproduct that was being used as fill in our backyards? How long was that going on for? And it was it was hot.

[00:02:26]>> Well, before all three of us were born.

[00:02:29]>> Without question.

[00:02:29]>> So, I mean, it's been it was decades ago and uh knowingly or unknowingly, it was it's out there.

[00:02:35]>> Your reporting was really the impetus behind the decision by EPA and DEC to relocate these four families. Your reporting yesterday, which is available on our website wyvb.com, a lengthy story, Dan, where you literally took you you an engineer, our chief photographer, with a Geiger counter. These families were terrified, to say the least, and some of them were asking a question, rhetorically, because they don't have the answer, "What are my health risks?

[00:03:01]What have I been exposed to? What is the answers, if any, that these people have been given?"

[00:03:06]>> No answers yet, but our our photojournalist, Chris Broadbent, did ask the question about what are those risks. Didn't answer, but would you, the health commissioner, state health would you want to live there and move back there? And this is what he said.

[00:03:21]>> Well, so I you know, I think the important thing is if there's a home where radiation has been identified, we're working with the EPA and DEC to kind of just exactly do what you're saying, is to actually temporarily relocate people. So, the answer is no, if your home has radiation in it, it's you know, we're advising you to voluntarily relocate. That's what I would do. As far as whether or not you move back to your home when it's been mitigated, you know, I think it's important for the homeowner to be satisfied that it's been mitigated. I don't know what people will want to do.

[00:03:53]>> That's the health com- That's the health commissioner saying, if it were him, people should leave.

[00:03:58]>> Yeah.

[00:03:58]>> And he said, "I don't know what I would do." Well, I think you can kind of read his mind.

[00:04:01]>> Yeah. Yeah. And Marucci, the EPA administrator for our region, also said there's We just don't have enough answers yet.

[00:04:08]>> Yeah.

[00:04:08]>> It's It's It's moving fast, but you know, day by day it changes.

[00:04:12]>> And those emotions were running high. Of course, we have all that coverage.

[00:04:15]Again, it's on our website, wivb.com, in case you missed any of it. We are sort of in the process of all of this, which is one of the reasons why we wanted to bring Dan on to update you on some important reporting that is really critical to many neighbors in our community. Dan, thank you so much for your work.

[00:04:30]>> Appreciate it.

[00:04:31]>> Thanks for following it, and you will continue to do so. Let's get to