The town of Hoosick Falls, NY has contaminated drinking water due to chemicals from a local plastics plant. Specifically, the water is contaminated with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a chemical used in producing non-stick coatings that is toxic and accumulates in wildlife and humans. PFOA contamination is an issue in other parts of New York as well. Current solutions in Hoosick Falls are temporary and do not address the high levels of PFOA already present in the local environment and populations. The situation highlights the need to find solutions for widespread chemical contamination across the United States and to generate toxicity information on more of the thousands of chemicals in regular use.

1. Is Flint Unique?
The case of Hoosick Falls, NY
Kyle Monahan | 3-14-2016
Water Diplomacy Colloquium

2. Hoosick Falls, NY
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3. Background
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• Biggest employer is a plastics plant
• Less than 4,000 residents
• Water supply contaminated with
perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)

4. Why PFOA?
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• Industry of course!
• PFOA used in production of plastics,
firefighting foams and Teflon© type
coatings
• Occurs throughout NY
(Sinclair et al, 2006)
C8HF15O2

5. Why PFOA?
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• You may know a similar chemical:

6. Hoosick Falls, NY - Background
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• Toxicity is “unclear”
• Bio-accumulates & bio-concentrates
• Piscivorous birds especially at risk (EPA,
2006)
• May cause: developmental, reproductive
and other systematic effects (ATSDR, 2009).

7. Why Hoosick?
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• Toxicity is “unclear”
• Bio-accumulates & bio-concentrates
• Piscivorous birds especially at risk (EPA,
2006)
• May cause: developmental, reproductive
and other systematic effects (ATSDR, 2009).

8. Why Hoosick?
Tufts University | Water Diplomacy Colloquium
• Toxicity is “unclear”
• Bio-accumulates & bio-concentrates
• Piscivorous birds especially at risk (EPA,
2006)
• May cause: developmental, reproductive
and other systematic effects (ATSDR, 2009).

9. Current Solutions?
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• Temporary fix: activated carbon, bottled
water, flushing systems

10. It’s not just Flint
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11. Current Solutions?
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It’s not just Flint
But lead isn’t PFOA!
Many other chemical
spills around US

12. It’s not just Flint
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• How do we deal with the high level of
contamination already present?
• What about toxicity
• We have toxicity information on <2% of
chemicals in use (Acosta, 2012).

13. It’s not just Flint
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• How do we deal with the high level of
contamination already present?
• What about toxicity
• We have toxicity information on <2% of
chemicals in use (Acosta, 2012).

14. It’s not just Flint
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15. Questions:
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• How do we deal with the high level of
contamination already present in the US?
• We have toxicity information on <2% of
chemicals in use (Acosta, 2012). What do we do
about less well-documented chemicals?