The state Department of Environmental Conservation's months-long study into PFAS compounds in soil around the Norlite facility in Cohoes is complete, after concerns were raised about incineration of firefighting foam containing the material in 2018 and 2019.

"What’s important about the results is it seems like there are minimal concentrations of PFAS materials, which would be impacting human health, so that’s a positive, but we have much more work to be doing," said Assemblymember John McDonald.

Sean Mahar, DEC chief of staff, says its 450-page report found no evidence of significant levels of PFAS.

"After collecting dozens of samples, analyzing them for 23 different metals and all sorts of different perfluorinated compounds, we couldn’t find any evidence of aerial deposition," Mahar said. "Meaning, if they came out of the stacks, did they fall on the community somewhere? And there were no health implications that we could find when consulting with the Department of Health on this."

Mahar says this study into aerial emissions is cutting edge.

While PFAS have been studied in water for awhile, studying how the compounds travel through the air, and the impact, is new.

"The chemicals have been widely used in consumer products for well over 50 years now, so it’s not, unfortunately, too surprising that we did find these detections," Mahar said.

This research found some higher-than-expected levels in one area of soil sampled, and Mahar says the DEC is trying to identify the source and reduce the emissions, if possible.

Meanwhile, McDonald says impact on people is key.

"Whether we anticipated it or not, the question is, ‘What is the impact on human health?' And that is the assessment that we still continue to push forward on," McDonald said.

And just because there was no significant impact found, McDonald says the Norlite facility will not be getting the go-ahead to start incinerating firefighting foam again. The bill prohibiting it would have to be overturned in the state legislature.

"And there is no interest in doing that whatsoever," McDonald said.

McDonald added that this case has sparked interest in what else Norlite is burning, so there’s additional scrutiny on the renewal for its hazardous burning permit.

"This area is an environmental justice zone, and it needs to be held to a higher standard," McDonald said.

Mahar says the impact of the study results will have no bearing on the permit renewal, but the DEC is keeping an eye on Norlite and has a monitor on-site daily.

"Just because we didn’t find a pattern of aerial emissions from PFAS, that gives us a little pause to say, ‘OK good,’ but that doesn’t take the foot off the gas on all the other actions we have going on," Mahar said.

Meanwhile, Norlite says it’s pleased with the outcome of the study, issuing a statement that states, in part: “These findings confirm that our state-of-the-art technology is protective of our community and the environment, and we hope these conclusions are reassuring to our neighbors.”

Mahar says the DEC is also planning an upcoming community meeting via WebEx to discuss these results with the public, but a date has not been set yet.