View of Emerson Power Transmission; photo by Regina Deschere

(Publisher's note: In the spirit of full disclosure, I will say that I live about one block away from some of the homes being tested for TCE.)

On June 1, Erin Brockovich spoke at GIAC to a standing-room only group of residents concerned about toxic pollution in the South Hill area from the former Morse Chain Factory, now Emerson Power Transmission (EPT). She was joined by two lawyers whose firms she consults with: Stan Alpert of the Alpert Firm in New York City, and Shawn McCann from Girardi and Keese in Los Angeles.

Many South Hill residents have been battling EPT for more than two years to get them to test potentially contaminated homes for the volatile organic compound (VOC) trichloroethylene (TCE). TCE has been found in high numbers on the factory site, in Six Mile Creek, and in many homes in the area.

After what some residents feel is Emerson's snail's pace movement to test and remediate the contaminated homes, they are now considering a lawsuit that would seek blanket mitigation for all homes in the testing areas as well as financial compensation for some residents whose home values have dropped significantly as a result of contamination. Brockovich's visit was to encourage residents to consider litigation as an option.

"I'm not here to tell you what to do," Brockovich told the crowd Thursday night. "But you need to understand that nothing is going to happen until you decide what's going to happen."  

Brockovich made national news when she helped residents of Hinkley, CA successfully sue Pacific Gas and Electric for the largest settlement ever paid in a class action lawsuit. She describes herself as an "advocate for awareness" and came to Ithaca of her own volition—without pay or reimbursement for travel expenses—because she feels that South Hill residents have enough of a case to take this to the courts. She says she's impressed with the work the community has already done, and the documents they've been able to acquire.

One of those documents—from a 1989 test of groundwater in Six-Mile Creek—shows the highest levels of TCE contamination that Brockovich says she's ever seen, a reading of 1.1 million parts per billion. Current proposals by New York State EPA would put the safety limit at five parts per billion.

However, Ken Deschere, one of the South Hill residents who has been active in the hunt for documents, talking with neighbors, and learning as much as he can about the issue, says that TCE can't saturate groundwater at such a high level; what the test hit was likely a pool of pure TCE, which is heavier than water and can collect in pools until some geological shift or pressure forces it to move again.

Regardless, TCE levels remain high in the South Hill area. Indoor air testing of homes in the area has found contamination levels as high as 365 micrograms per cubic meter. The New York State Assembly is proposing a safety limit of 0.2 micrograms per cubic meter (available in a report here). Earlier this year Emerson voluntarily agreed to offer home mitigation systems to any home that has a level of 0.8 micrograms per cubic meter or more.  

EPT has now completed four rounds of testing, yet residents in the fourth round of testing have not received test results and it's been fourteen weeks. According to Deschere, there is some speculation that the reason residents are waiting so long is because the results may show higher levels of TCE contamination. With each round of testing, as shown on these maps, the levels of TCE contamination have increased even though they are farther away from the factory.

Deschere is not surprised by the results. "I'm no geologist," he says, "but my logic says that something heavier than water should, over time, migrate downhill."

Residents in the area are still trying to decide if they will litigate. Brockovich has offered to assist residents by being an advocate for them and by pouring over documents, helping to do the needed research. She says if the residents here decide to hire the law firm she consults with, she'll be back. In the meantime, she encouraged residents to follow their common sense, to utilize freedom of information requests as often as necessary, and to aim for independent testing of homes.

More info:

South Hill Ithaca Pollution (SHIP) Toxic Chemical Database

Ithaca SHIP.org