COLONIE -- After radioactivity from the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory spilled into the Mohawk River above drinking water intakes for tens of thousands of Colonie residents, no one from Knolls, the federal government or the state warned town officials.
"We learned about the leak when we read about it in the newspaper," said John Frazer, superintendent of the Latham Water District, on Friday. "No one from Knolls called us. This left us in a very awkward position."
Officials in the city of Cohoes, which also relies on the Mohawk River for drinking water further downriver from Latham, also did not receive warnings about the Oct. 25 leak, with state officials maintaining the amount of radiation was too small to present a health risk.
Frazer said Knolls officials, who have warned Latham water officials about past discharges into the river, blamed the lack of a heads-up this time on the U.S. Energy Department, which is running demolition and cleanup of tainted Cold War-era atomic research buildings at Knolls in Niskayuna.
Warnings about leaks at Knolls allow officials in the Latham Water District, which serves about 80,000 residential customers, a chance to switch its water supply from the Mohawk to a series of wells. The drinking water intakes are about 1.5 miles downriver from Knolls.
Heavy rains caused about 630 gallons of drainage water from around a building under demolition to spill into the river after an electric pump failed for about three hours. The water contained small amount of Cesium-137, Strontium-90, uranium and plutonium.
Officials at both the state Department of Environmental Conservation and Health Department repeated Friday that the amount of radioactivity was too small to pose a public health risk.
But Latham water officials, who routinely test the river for background radiation levels, are still awaiting test results from the time around the spill, said Frazer.
DEC Regional Director John Kelly said DEC will notify Latham and Cohoes water officials about any future leaks. "We are changing our protocols so something like this will not happen again," Kelly said.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Sounds Chernobyl-like, don't cha think? What party is in power in the U.S, NY state, and the county?
Optimists close their eyes and pretend problems are non existent. Better to have open eyes, see the truths, acknowledge the negatives, and speak up for the people rather than the politicos and their rich cronies.
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