Riverkeeper responds to Sen. Gillibrand’s request for blood tests for Newburgh residents

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 16, 2016
Contact: Cliff Weathers, Communications Director
(914) 478-4501, ext. 239; [email protected]

Ossining, NY — Riverkeeper, New York’s clean water advocate, has issued a statement regarding Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s call for blood testing for Newburgh, NY residents.

Earlier today, Sen. Gillibrand sent a letter to Dr. Patrick Breysse, director of the National Center for Environmental Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, requesting the blood tests for Newburgh residents, who were possibly exposed to harmful levels of Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS).

Late last week, New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation declared Stewart Air National Guard Base a Superfund site, and indicated that the firefighting foams used at the base were most likely the source of contamination that closed the City of Newburgh’s primary water supply, Washington Lake.

“The state has determined that the Stewart ANG base site needs to be cleaned up because it is an imminent threat to life and health,” said John Parker, Director of Legal Programs. “Senator Gillibrand’s request makes perfect sense; Newburgh residents need to have blood tests like those exposed in other communities in New York.”