Grafton Planning Board Action – Nanospheres At GES

Not A Fish Story
by Kieron Kramer
Michael Dadachov of Corpuscular. Inc, a microsphere and nanosphere laboratory and production company, has entered into a contract with the Berlin School District to purchase the Grafton Elementary School building and five acres of land surrounding it. He applied for a site plan review for a change of use for the school property at the Grafton Planning Board meeting on Monday, July 15. [private]Dadachov’s application was accepted for review by the Planning Board in a 4-0 vote; Planning Board Member Arthur Surprise was absent. A public hearing was scheduled for August 19 at 6:50 pm before the next regular Planning Board meeting.
According to Planning Board Chairman Tom Withcuskey, the School District will retain ten acres of property at the former GES site. He does not know the purchase price for the building and five acres. The School District has 20 days to complete a survey of the property. The District will then have to apply to the Planning Board for subdivision approval, according to Withcuskey. If the Board votes to accept the Site Plan for the change of use on August 19 it will be contingent on the successful subdivision and closing, both of which will occur at a later date, a DEC inspection and consultation with the Town’s attorney.
Withcuskey said that a “full environmental impact statement will be done.” He said that because of the proliferation of nanotechnology sites in the State the NYS DEC has a special department to inspect and regulate such sites and he has been in touch with them. Also, he has already conferred with Planning Board Member and Grafton Fire Chief Jim Goyer about the materials that would be present on site. Goyer said at this meeting that the materials are no more dangerous than those “in a normal garage.” A material safety data sheet (MSDS) will be maintained, and the Fire Department will receive an updated list of the materials and their amounts as warranted.
Some of the spheres are made of metal – silver, gold, palladium or platinum. Some are made of noncrystalline silica, which is harmless. Some silica spheres will have a protein on the surface to bond with cells, some will be fluorescent. Some spheres are made of polystyrene which can be magnetic, fluorescent or coated with antibodies to attach to cancer cells and viruses. Some of the spheres are made of radioactive oxides and polymers primarily for use in medical imaging. Some spheres are made of glass or ceramic in absolutely precise sizes to be used to measure the size of cells and molecules. The materials in the spheres and the spheres themselves are produced in a laboratory by chemical processes. These processes require some solvents such as acetone, isopropyl alcohol, ethanol, hydrogen peroxide, formaldehyde and distilled water. Flammable liquids will be stored in a special cabinet, the ethanol and acetone in a ventilated area. All of these materials and solvents will be present at the site but in such small amounts that they pose no environmental or health danger. “It’s like a university lab,” Dadachov said. He wants people to know what’s going on, “Anyone can come and check inside,” he said. Although some of the lab hoods will be vented to the outside Dadachov said that the fumes will be “100 times less” than those given off by asphalt repaving. There are OSHA regulations that will be followed in the lab, he said. The organic waste will be carted off once a year under contract. The inorganic compounds will be neutralized into salts and washed down the drain, Dadachov said. Withcuskey added, “We will follow all NYS regulations in securing that stuff.” Dadachov said he would be happy to install a fence and a security door at the site if needed. More information about Dadachov’s company can be found on the web at www.microspheres-nanospheres.com/.
Dadachov is a Russian émigré. He studied for his advanced degree at Moscow State University, graduating in 1982, then emigrated to Australia to work in nuclear science. He came to the United States and was a professor of chemistry at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ, until 2003 when he decided to go into business. He owns two labs producing microspheres and nanospheres – one in Hoboken and one in Cold Spring, NY. These two labs will be consolidated at the Grafton site. Four or five technicians will be employed. “This is not a huge business,” Dadachov said, “but there is a market. We produce a high value, small quantity product that must be of extremely high quality.” Two milliliters, that’s less than in an eye dropper, of magnetic, fluorescent polystyrene nanospheres costs $268.70. These spheres range from one to 2.9 microns in size. A micron equals .00003937 of an inch. Ten milliliters of gold spheres, a third of an ounce in volume, costs $97 and 20 milliliters of antibody polystyrene spheres costs $343. Corpuscular, Inc. sells spheres to three or four companies in the United States, one in Canada and several in Europe, primarily in Germany and Switzerland. The revenue from sales in Europe will be kept there in order to avoid U.S. taxes, Dadachov, now a U.S. citizen, said.
Forette Lot Line Adjustment
The Planning Board accepted a lot line adjustment application from Marcel Forette on Miller Way off of Blue Factory Hill Road. Forette had a survey done on his property and discovered a .06 acre protrusion of his property into the land of Edward Marchand, who had consolidated three parcels into one at that location. Forette will convey the .06 acres to Marchand and is asking for the lot line adjustment “to square off” the property, Withcuskey said. The Board voted to accept the application. A public hearing on the lot line adjustment was set for 6:30 pm on August 19.
Wagar Subdivision
The Board also accepted an application for a subdivision from David and Donna Wagar. They want to separate a five acre parcel from their 22.57 acre property on Stuffle Street to convey to their daughter, Marissa Wagar, keeping 17.57 acres. The daughter’s dwelling, on the proposed new parcel at the south end of the Wagar property, is already under construction. The septic system and water supply has already been approved by the County Health Department, Withcuskey said. The Board voted to accept the application. A check for $150 will be tendered by the Wagars, who were represented at this meeting by Surveyor Rod Michaels. A public hearing on this subdivision was set for 6:40 pm on August 19.[/private]