We posted this news weeks ago and wanted to tell you more:

According to the press release announcing its formation, the New York State Vapor Intrusion Alliance (NYVIA) was recently formed by citizens representing Ithaca, Victor, Endicott, Hopewell Junction, Plainview, Hillcrest, Middleport and Ft. Edward. Each of these communities has been forced to deal with ongoing TCE pollution and the impact of vapor intrusion. Founding members of the Alliance include (links have been provided below where available):

Debra Hall, Co-Chair Hopewell Junction Citizens for Clean Air and Clean Water	Bruce Oldfield, Co-Chair Hillcrest Environmental Action Team
Mike Barry Victor New York TCE	Carol Meschkow Concerned Citizens of the Plainview-Old Bethpage Community, Inc.
Laura Haight NY Public Interest Research Group	Ken Deschere Regina Deschere Ithaca South Hill Industrial Pollution
Bill Borell Hopewell Junction Citizens for Clean Air and Clean Water	Sue Hughes Julie Rizzo United Neighbors Improving Tomorrow's Environment
Stephen Boese Healthy Schools Network	Don Teeling CARE - Ft. Edward

They are supported by two technical advisors:

Lenny Siegel Center for Public Environmental Oversight

Dave Palmer, Esq. NY Lawyers for the Public Interest

Their press release states their mission:

1. Assist impacted residents, communities and schools across New York State in addressing toxic chemical exposure from vapor intrusion.


2. Explore the impact of vapor intrusion on health and property, identify commonalities, and present our findings as a means to educate the public, media, and policy-makers.


3. Collaborate with local and state officials to adopt protective remediation standards, policies, procedures and technologies to prevent or mitigate vapor intrusion that are based on 21st century knowledge and science.

In support of this mission, the Alliance has already inserted itself into state politics and is lobbying for legislation designed to better protect the public from migrating toxins and vapor intrusion.

In addition to announcing support for proposed state legislation regarding Landlord Notification to Tenants of Contaminants (requiring that landlords disclose to current or prospective tenants any known contamination on a property, including the results of any investigations concerning vapor intrusion) and announcing support for the state's proposed Private Well Testing Act (requiring that drinking water from private wells be tested - upon transfer of a property - for contaminants including VOC's), the Alliance is meeting with legislators and urging New York State to revise its indoor air action levels for TCE:

A document from the NYS Department of Health in 2003 listed the range of potential criteria for long term exposure of trichloroethylene (TCE) in indoor air from 0.2 to 4 micrograms per cubic meter (mcg/m3)of air and then sets 5 mcg/m3 as the indoor air guideline. In 2005, the NYS DOH adopted a matrix for evaluating residential indoor air that lists values for mitigation of TCE vapors ranging from 0.25 to 5.0 mcg/m3 depending on subslab concentrations. As a response to public outcry about the matrix, the NYS DOH convened an expert panel in August of 2005 to comment on the use of this matrix. NYS DOH rejected the panel’s recommendation that the standard be set between 0.1 and 1 mcg/m3 of indoor air. In 2006, NYS Senator Thomas Libous wrote to the NYS DOH requesting that the NYS standard be set between 0.016 and 0.02 mcg/m3 of air. The NYS DOH has been unresponsive to requests to lower NYS indoor air standards.

[...]

The community action groups in this Alliance have found that the NYS Indoor Air guidelines in the matrix are not applied uniformly in pollution cases. The screening levels appear to be different in different communities and the action levels vary significantly. In Hillcrest (Town of Fenton) NY, mitigation of TCE vapors was done down to 0.14 mcg/m3 whereas in Endicott NY a standard of 5 mcg/m3 was applied.

The NewYork-Vapor Intrusion Alliance strongly supports the introduction of legislation to adopt trichloroethylene indoor air standards to be set at the detection level using the most accurate measurement devices available. NY-VIA also strongly supports that the standards be applied uniformly across New York State.

The New York State Vapor Intrusion Alliance is working towards important goals. Their voice and influence have become necessary to fill a critical gap left by legislators and regulators who, unduly influenced by corporate and political pressures, have been unable or unwilling to adequately protect the public from migrating toxins and vapor intrusion.

The TCE Blog fully supports NYVIA's mission and its efforts. Further, we believe other states can and should learn from their example. Every state should establish a similar Vapor Intrusion Alliance.

If anybody from Connecticut wants to help us launch the CTVIA, please contact us.