NEWBURGH – Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney’s district office is in the City of Newburgh and he plans to roll up his shirt sleeve for a phlebotomist to test for PFOS, the chemical found in the city’s Washington Lake drinking water.
Maloney will also recommend that the staff at his office get tested as
well for any traces of the carcinogenic chemical.
“I plan to have it done myself to practice what I preach, but to draw attention to the fact that this service is available and it is prudent for people to have their blood tested,” the lawmaker said. “We don’t know of any health effects, we hope there are none, but we want to be careful and we want to have a baseline so we know what exposure level, if any, people have.”
Voluntary blood testing of residents and those who work in Newburgh began this week at the state’s expense.
The city’s drinking water is currently coming from the New York City Catskill Aqueduct while plans are being made by the state to purify Washington Lake.
The state and federal governments are also working on plans to remediate the source of the problem, the New York Air National Guard Base at nearly Stewart Airport.
Other blood testing days conducted by Cornerstone Family Healthcare will be held at:
147 Lake Street on Thursday, November 3; Saturday, November 12; and Saturday November 19;
290 Broadway on Monday, November 7 and Thursday, November 10.
