Niagara County residents expressed their frustration towards New York state Department of Environmental Conservation and Environmental Protection Agency officials on Monday.
A meeting was held at the Niagara Falls Convention Center after radioactive pollution was detected in the yards of at least 120 homes in the county earlier this month.
Of those, the DEC got permission to screen 39 properties and found that six properties needed further investigation.
Over the weekend, four families were granted relocation assistance from the EPA due to radioactive material in their yards.
Meanwhile, the DEC is asking for more access agreements.
If you give the DEC access to your property, they will come and do an initial screening.If they find anything concerning, they will also screen your home. If any issues arise inside your home, the state will either relocate you or find a way to mitigate the risk.
After initial screenings, the EPA will do a full assessment and collect samples. A team will assess the data and come up with a mitigation plan.
That EPA process will take two to three months.
“We don’t know exactly where the materials are coming from,” state DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton said. “That is part of the investigation. We suspect it’s something like slag that was produced and used as fill.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul has shared her support for residents, saying she is working closely with the EPA throughout this process.