One of New York state’s strangest environmental disasters resulted in the closing of a government office tower for more than a decade and a cleanup bill of tens of millions of dollars.
The trouble began 45 years ago. An early-morning electrical fire and several explosions occurred in the basement of the Binghamton State Office Building.
Watch WNBF News video at the end of this article.
Nearly two-dozen firefighters were sent to the 18-story structure just before 5:30 a.m. on February 5, 1981.
The west side of the Binghamton State Office Building near City Hall on February 4, 2016. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)
The west side of the Binghamton State Office Building near City Hall on February 4, 2016. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)
The blaze in a transformer caused a coolant containing PCBs to burn. Dioxin and other toxic chemicals were created by the fire. Sticky soot laced with the dangerous compounds spread through the entire tower.
Hundreds of people who worked in the building were allowed to retrieve personal items after the fire, potentially exposing them to the contamination.
Dr. Arnold Schecter, who was the Broome County health commissioner, urged officials to exercise caution in responding to the safety issues posed by the chemicals.
The building superintendent said it might take “several days” before the building could reopen. It actually took nearly 5,000 days – almost 14 years – until office workers started moving back in.
A view of the Binghamton State Office Building from the city’s South Side on January 4, 2023. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)
A view of the Binghamton State Office Building from the city’s South Side on January 4, 2023. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)
A few weeks after the fire, Governor Hugh Carey offered to go into the Binghamton State Office Building and “swallow an entire glass of PCBs and then run a mile afterwards.” He never did.
Efforts to clean up the tower were time-consuming and expensive. Everything that had been inside the building was removed and transported to a hazardous waste landfill in western New York.
Some area residents and state government workers suggested the best solution would have been to tear down the tainted structure.
Officials estimated the total expense to state taxpayers of responding to the disaster was $53 million. That was more than three times the $17 million cost of constructing the building a decade earlier.
WNBF NEWS VIDEO: We returned to the scene exactly 45 years after the Binghamton State Office Building fire occurred.
Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com or call (607) 545-2250. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.