Steam spewed from the plant on January 25
ALBANY – State Department of Environmental Conservation testing
of ambient air samples near the CPV power plant in Wawayanda found that
the results were typical of similar, non-urban areas in the state and
as a result, officials said the samples found no threat to public health.
The DEC collected three, one-hour air samples on Monday, March 5 in response
to community concerns about odors and visible plumes from the facility
during test. Residents complained of sore throats and burning eyes from
the plumes, but CPV officials maintained it was steam being emitted from
the stacks during the test firing with ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel.
The DEC said testing for 32 compounds found chemical concentrations below
the agency’s short-term health-based comparison values that were
developed to be protective of health outcomes from one-hour exposures.
Each of the air samples was collected for one hour using a six-liter canister.
Samples were analyzed by DEC’s laboratory using the US EPA’s
method for air analysis of volatile organic compounds.
One sample was collected north of the facility – upwind –
in the Pine Hill Cemetery and two were collected south of the facility
– downwind – along DeBlock Road. The third DeBlock Road sample
was collected away from homes and 400 feet northeast of the second sample.
During the sampling, the winds were from the north.
The testing found 14 of 32 compounds in one or more samples were identified
as products from the burning of ultra-low sulfur diesel and all concentrations
were below respective health-based comparison values.
The remaining 18 compounds are unlikely to be related to the burning of
the fuel and are routinely found in communities in the state as they are
related to traffic emissions or refrigerants with long atmospheric half-lives.
The concentrations for all 18 compounds were also below respective health-based
comparison values.
The data from all 32 compounds were compared with concentrations found
in DEC’s ambient air toxics monitoring network. Many of the compounds
found in the assessment are frequently detected in other locations in
the state. The comparison showed that the concentrations of all 32 compounds
were within the same range as concentrations found in the rest of the
DEC’s monitoring network. The DEC concluded that the measured levels
in the neighborhoods surrounding the CPV plant were not unusual.
