A local business has been cleared of wrongdoing by the DEC after an investigation.
In February a shipment of foundry sand from ITT Goulds Pumps in Seneca Falls to Seneca Meadows landfill set off alarms due to the presence of Radium 226, a radioactive material. The load was quickly isolated, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) was notified.
Following an investigation by the DEC Bureau of Environmental Crimes Investigations Unit, it was determined that neither ITT Goulds Pumps nor the trucking company was criminally culpable. Both parties were unaware that the sand contained naturally occurring radioactive materials.
ITT Goulds Pumps has since hired a consultant and an engineering firm to install monitoring equipment to ensure that any waste leaving their site is free of radioactive materials before being transported elsewhere. The DEC’s Bureau of Hazardous Waste and Radiation Management is now working to determine the appropriate disposal method for the isolated sand to protect public health and the environment.
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