You are here

Front Page

Could Ithaca Falls be re-opened as an EPA Superfund site?









Lead shot found at Ithaca Falls in 2015.

Test results from soil samples collected by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in August 2017, but not publicly disclosed until last week, confirm what investigators found in February 2018 – lead levels on the Ithaca Falls Gorge Trail exceed the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) removal management level at 400 parts per million (PPM).

“Neither DEC nor EPA alerted the public to this documented public health threat. That is why I did,” said environmental advocate Walter Hang.

Lead Contamination 175 Times the Acceptable Level Found Near Ithaca Falls




In 2000, Cornell University sold a plot of land to the City of Ithaca for one dollar. This plot of land — the Ithaca Falls and Gorge Trail region — has now cost the City millions in cleanup as high levels of lead contamination have been found there again and again.

Toxic lead levels found at Ithaca Falls again after millions spent on cleanup




ITHACA, N.Y. — At the base of the gorge walls at Ithaca Falls, which were mostly clear of debris after the site was cleaned in 2015, are several feet of dirt, leaves, rocks, and brass butt ends of shotgun shells. All of it this debris, which spills onto the nearby trail leading to the city's namesake waterfall, is contaminated with toxic levels of lead again — an issue that has been plaguing the city for years.

Extensive pollution persists at Ithaca's two most toxic sites



The City of Ithaca’s future might be bright, but this month city officials were served with two stark reminders that it’s far from leaving behind its toxic past.

Report: High Lead Levels Found at Ithaca Falls

Ithaca, N.Y. (WENY) - A new report compiled for the Department of Environmental Conservation by the Environmental Testing Laboratory "TestAmerica" has revealed there is a high level of lead contamination at the Ithaca Falls Trail.

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - Front Page