EPA to assist with asbestos decontamination project in Upstate New York

The cities of Watertown and Ogdensburg, New York, are set to receive financial assistance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfield program. Funds from the program are given to initiatives that clean up dangerously blighted or contaminated properties to make them suitable for new use. The city of Ogdensburg will receive a $1 million award, as well as an additional $200,000 to continue the cleanup at the former Standard Shade Roller property.

"This is all very good news," Ogdensburg City Manager Arthur J. Sciorra said in a statement. "We are eager to get the asbestos abated and the buildings demolished at the Shade Roller site, and the cleanup grant is another step toward achieving that goal."

Asbestos exposure is conclusively linked to the development of mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer. Mesothelioma affects less than 3,000 Americans each year, and while there are various kinds of treatment methods available, including chemo, there is no known cure. The disease typically lies dormant for up to fifty years before an individual begins to suffer from mesothelioma symptoms, and the majority of patients lose their battle with this cancer in less than two years following diagnosis.

The $1 million grant awarded to Ogdensburg will set up a larger fund to help other area property owners who are dealing with contamination issues. "We’ll use the program to inventory those sites and then put together redevelopment plans and then make money available to implement those plans through the revolving loan fund," Ogdensburg City Planning and Development Director J. Justin Woods said, adding, "The fund will give us another tool in our redevelopment toolbox."