Schumer Announces New EPA Study of Contaminated Newtown Creek; Calls for Creation of Local Health Registry; Testing for Toxic Oil Vapors

Schumer Announces New EPA Study Of Contaminated Newtown Creek; Calls For Creation Of Local Heath Registry; Testing For Toxic Oil Vapors

Two Decades Since Nation's Worst Oil Spill Was Discovered, Greenpoint Residents Remain Vulnerable to Potentially Cancer-Causing Vapors

Schumer: EPA's Newtown Creek Study a Good First Step, Next Step is to Extend Testing to Surrounding Area for Methane and Benzene Vapors, and Create Local Health Registry

As one of the world's largest underground oil spills continues to imperil the health of New York residents, poison the Newtown Creek and financially hinder small businesses and home owners almost twenty years since it was first discovered, today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, joined by U.S. Representatives Anthony Weiner and Nydia Velazquez, announced a new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study of Newtown Creek, the site of the oil spill. In addition to the EPA study, which will assess Newtown Creek's soil, water and air to determine the oil spill's health impact on local residents, Senator Schumer is also calling for comprehensive testing to document the prevalence of Methane and Benzene vapors produced by the spill. Senator Schumer also called for the creation of a health registry for local residents following yesterday's news that four cases of the rare sarcoma bone cancer were identified in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, a neighborhood that sits above the oil spill.

"This EPA study is a terrific first step toward cleaning-up and resurrecting Newtown Creek, which for decades has been a toxic blight on Greenpoint's community," said Senator Schumer. "After letting Exxon Mobil drag its feet on the clean-up for more than 35 years, this study will give us more of the documentation we need to hold their feet to the fire."

"While the oil companies lag in their cleanup responsibilities, the health and safety of Newtown Creek's residents hang in the balance," said Rep. Weiner. "Thousands of homes and businesses are affected by this terrible oil spill. The public has the right to know what effects this oil spill is having on our community and local environment."

"With record profits and surging gas prices, Exxon Mobil is more than capable of expediting the remediation process, thereby reducing further risk to residents in my Congressional district," said Rep. Nydia Velázquez. "Not only should the spill be cleaned up, but residents must be fully informed of any environmental and health risks this oil spill might have caused through time."

The nation's largest oil spill was first discovered in 1978 when U.S. Coast Guard patrols identified oil slicks on Newtown Creek which runs along the border between Brooklyn and Queens. The oil is believed to have seeped into the waterway following an oil tank explosion in 1950 at the former Standard Oil depot, now Exxon Mobil. While the blast sent at least 17 millions gallons of oil underground, over 55 acres, evidence suggests that the spill may be much more extensive with some estimates putting it as high as 25-30 million gallons. This dwarfs the infamous Exxon-Valdez spill of 11 million gallons that ravaged Alaska's coastline. Evidence also suggests Amoco and Chevron facilities may have also contributed to this spill. While the size of the oil spill remains undefined, a conservative estimate identifies 238 homes and 82 businesses (probably in excess of 1000 people who have regular exposure) lie atop it.

Despite the magnitude of the oil spill and its health and environmental risks, in 1990, Exxon Mobil won a favorable deal in negotiating a clean-up consent decree from the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The deal lacked timelines for cleanup, benchmarks, mitigation measures for residents, and penalties for non-compliance. Although the clean-up effort recently received good news when the DEC shifted negotiation power for a new consent decree to the New York State Attorney General's Office in May, residents of Brooklyn and Queens continue to suffer health risks from oil vapors seeping through the soil. Last month, the DEC and Exxon Mobil found elevated levels of cancer-causing Benzene and potentially explosive Methane gas near homes in the surrounding community of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Yesterday, it was a revealed that four cases of the rare Sarcoma bone cancer were identified in the neighborhood. A very unusual type of bone cancer, only 24 cases of Sarcoma bone cancer were reported last year in all of NYC, compared to 10,000 cases of breast cancer.

The new EPA study, which was authored by Reps. Weiner and Velazquez is a congressionally mandated study, will focus on the Newtown Creek, examining the effects the spill has had on soil and groundwater, pinpointing how far contaminants from the spill have spread into the New York Harbor, and determining whether Exxon is using the most effective methods to clean up the Creek.

Today, Senator Schumer hailed the new EPA study and also announced that in addition to the study of Newtown Creek, he was calling on the DEC to expand their efforts to test resident's homes for Methane and Benzene soil vapors. Concerned that there is no clear idea on how much these soil vapors have impacted Greenpoint, Brooklyn and other nearby neighborhoods, Schumer wants testing to be nearly doubled to allow more residents to get testing if they so choose.

Schumer also called for testing for Benzene and Methane, chemicals that according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) can cause drowsiness, dizziness, unconsciousness, anemia, and leukemia. In 2004, Riverkeeper, a leading advocate for cleaning-up the spill, conducted tests which detected the presence of BTEX (Benzene, Toluene, Ethelbenzen and Xylense), which are chemicals found in gasoline, far in excess of cancerous standards. Riverkeeper argued that the BTEX vapors may be seeping into as many as 100 homes. This year, even Exxon Mobil reported Methane and Benzene vapors coming up through the soil.

Finally, Schumer called for the creation of a health registry to evaluate the health impact on local residents caused by the oil spill and vapors. The health registry would focus on residents living above the spill as well as residents in the surrounding areas and residents who have moved out of the community. Voluntary participants would submit detailed health-histories for questionnaires, data about local environmental conditions would be collated and blood work would be collected in an effort to more specifically understand the medical predicaments of local residents. Senator Schumer called for a federal public health study to be done in consultation with leading community stakeholders. This would be modeled after the recent collaborative efforts of Mt. Sinai Hospital and the New York State Department of Health (DOH) and Center for Disease (CDC) to study residents and workers downtown after 9/11.

Senator Schumer called on Exxon Mobil to foot the bill for this new health study, by tapping into their record-breaking profits last year and the profit of oil resold from Greenpoint. Since Exxon Mobil has begun clean-up, they have pumped at least 8.5 million gallons of the salvaged product out of the ground under Greenpoint. This oil is then taken to New Jersey for reprocessing where it is refined and sold as gasoline, home heating oil, or other products. Beginning a study of this scope is estimated to cost at least $500,000 with costs rising in coming years.

Under federal law, funding for the study of Newtown Creek will come from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. The EPA must report its findings by July 12, 2007, a year from the day that legislation authorizing the study was signed into law. The EPA is working closely with such relevant state agencies as the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the Attorney General's Office, and the New York Department of Health.

http://schumer.senate.gov/SchumerWebsite/pressroom/record.cfm?id=264740&&year=2006&