Governor Kathy Hochul is pressing the federal government to accelerate its review of potential radiological contamination in Niagara and Erie county communities.
In a letter Tuesday, Hochul asked Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin to assign more staff, laboratory capacity and analytical support to the Niagara and Erie County Radiological Assessment project.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation and the federal agency began the project in 2023 to update a 1984 regional survey. The work is intended to identify possible contamination connected to the historic use and distribution of radioactive byproducts and waste.
The first phase included aerial surveys covering more than 15,000 nautical miles, while a second phase surveyed more than 1,000 miles of roadway, according to the governor's office.
Hochul said reviews so far indicate no acute health risks from publicly accessible rights-of-way. The collected data, however, still requires detailed analysis by the federal agency.
The governor asked the agency to quickly complete that analysis and coordinate any additional testing or cleanup with state environmental and health officials. She said residents should also receive clear information about remediation or relocation if future findings make those steps necessary.
The assessment focuses on communities in Niagara and Erie counties, where past industrial and military manufacturing involved materials that may have contributed to legacy contamination.
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