The Columbia County Emergency Management Office issued a statement late Mon., Aug. 6, saying again that the TCI West Ghent chemical fire is nothing for local residents to worry about, and that no further testing will be necessary. "The NYS Department of Health advises that as a result of these findings, additional testing in the surrounding community will not be necessary," the statement said. "They explain that detectable levels of PCBs form the basis to determine the need to conduct additional tests for other potentially hazardous substances. They advise that there is no reason to believe that there is a threat to the public from any type of hazardous material resulting from the fire."

CCEMO also released "all the test results" received from the TCI of NY fire in West Ghent. The county directed anyone with questions to contact the NYS Department of Health of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

In the past week, though, several experts have said that the intense fire and explosions would have burned any of the PCBs present in the various chemicals, oils, and gases stored at the facility. David O. Carpenter, Professor at the University at Albany School of Public Health in Environmental Health with an expertise in human health effects of environmental contaminants, including metals and organic compounds, was interviewed on WGXC. He said it would be weeks before dioxins could be detected that would tell the story, since PCBs would have incinerated in the explosions and fire.
PLAY DAVID CARPENTER EXCERPT HERE :29

In the Register-Star, Manna Jo Greene, environmental action director at Clearwater, made a similar statement. "If dioxins or furans did result from the fire, they would be, 'several orders of magnitude more harmful than PCBs. Dioxin is Agent Orange," she said. 'I want to be sure the emergency responding team and the Environmental Protection Agency not be cavalier and take that responsibility (of testing the air and the dust) seriously.'"

In the Albany Times-Union, Brian Nearing wrote this weekend that, "On Saturday, members of the Rensselaer County Legislature requested expanded air monitoring and soil testing for farms, vegetation, and drinking water wells in their county."

The full statement from Columbia County Emergency Management's Facebook page:

Columbia County officials have been working with the NYS Department of Health, Department of Environmental Conservation, state Emergency Management Office and other agencies to identify and address potential impacts related to the TCI fire in W Ghent.

From the onset of the fire, Columbia County Emergency Management requested assistance from agencies having the expertise and resources to conduct whatever testing needed to identify hazards resulting from the TCI fire so that they could be addressed. The appropriate state and federal agencies responded to our request.

At this time, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC, has advised that all test results, including wipe testing conducted by DEC, both at the TCI site and within the 15-mile radius, have found no detectable levels of PCBs.

The NYS Department of Health advises that as a result of these findings, additional testing in the surrounding community will not be necessary. They explain that detectable levels of PCBs form the basis to determine the need to conduct additional tests for other potentially hazardous substances. They advise that there is no reason to believe that there is a threat to the public from any type of hazardous material resulting from the fire.

Additionally, representatives from the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets came to Columbia County and have been involved in discussions with Columbia County Emergency Management and the assisting state agencies and have advised that there is no health concern to livestock or produce.

The fire investigation and the cleaning of the TCI site have become the primary focus. Beginning today, TCI and the NYS DEC began that process and are addressing any issues relating to the site itself.

Any health-related questions should be directed to the NYS Department of Health at 518-474-7354 x 1. Questions regarding testing and test results should be directed to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation at 518-402-8000.

UPDATE: The Columbia County Emergency Management team added this statement to its Facebook page:

Testing is being done at the TCI Site and will expand outwards as needed per NYS DEC