by Doug La Rocque
Speaking at her eighth Town Hall Forum, held on Sunday, August 26 at Hudson Valley Community College, the Senator called for the establishment of a medical monitoring program for residents of Hoosick Falls, Petersburgh and any other local areas impacted by PFOA pollution. Ms. Gillibrand also called upon the companies identified as the source of the pollution to pay for these programs, indicating she feels they are not doing enough. She cited a number of studies that show people affected by such toxins often take ill many years after exposure, and predicted Hoosick Falls may one day be a hot bed of cancer.
Bennington College just released the results of a survey taken over the past Fall and Winter months, that indicated there were higher instances of potentially PFOA related illness, than were set forth in a New York State survey, conducted for the same purposes. The Bennington College survey, like Senator Gillibrand, also calls for long tern medical monitoring to be put in place.
For more on the survey, please see our report on page 12.