Health & Science

Joining Flint, A Drinking Water Crisis Grows In Upstate New York

Published March 1, 2016 at 11:33 AM CST

In this Jan. 21, 2016, photo, the Hoosic River runs through the village of Hoosick Falls, N.Y. New York regulators say Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics and Honeywell International are required to pay for the investigation and cleanup of a toxic chemical in the upstate villages drinking water. (Mike Groll/AP)

With national attention still on lead-tainted water in Flint, Michigan, another water crisis is growing in Upstate New York. Residents of Hoosick Falls, a village of 3,500 near Albany, may have been drinking water contaminated with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), also known as C8 and perfluorooctanoate, for months before state and federal environmental regulators stepped in to impose emergency filtration measures.

Last week, a federal class-action lawsuit was filed against the owners of the Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics plant, whose production of Teflon – the nonstick coating for pans – has been linked to the contaminated drinking water. And the crisis is spreading: PFOA is also suspected in the nearby towns of Petersburgh, New York and North Bennington, Vermont.

Here & Now’s Robin Young talks with Lucas Willard, the Southern Adirondack bureau chief for WAMC.

Guest

Lucas Willard, Southern Adirondack bureau chief for WAMC. He tweets @Willard_WAMC.