Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - During a visit to Buffalo on Tuesday, Western New York Congressman Tim Kennedy (D, NY-26) said he stands with the families being affected by the radioactive contamination being detected on their properties in the Town of Niagara.
"It's horrific what they're dealing with," said Kennedy of the constituents in his Congressional district. "The lack of information, the lack of communication; it's imperative that the DEC and the EPA work with these families in an expedited fashion, in every way possible to make sure that these families have confidence that their home is not contaminated, that their soil, that their water is not contaminated."
Kennedy hopes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is also doing everything in their power in this moment to stand up and be with the families, and give them what they need.
"To ensure they have the resources they need to relocate them, if not only necessary in the moment, but if the family wants to be relocated. And not just in temporary housing, but in housing that is in place until we get facts based on the science of the investigation environmentally that's happening right now. We are with the families until the end of this," Kennedy said.
Kennedy says his office is in constant communication on a daily basis with the DEC and EPA to push them along to make sure that they're communicating with the families the way they need to.
He also points to a solemn fact that the people of his district in Niagara County are all too familiar with.
"This is not new to our community in so many ways... That is the home of Love Canal, where people that lived on contaminated sites got cancer, their children got cancer. They're still dealing with the impact of that horrific environmental catastrophe today," Kennedy noted. "So we have to stand in this moment in time with the families to make sure that they have everything humanly possible to get through this, and that they are safe, that they are healthy. And that we identify the contaminated sites, get people away from them, and ensure that they're cleaned up as quickly as possible."
As officials at the state and federal level continue work to test the soil and investigate the further potential for radioactive grounds in Niagara, he wants them to make it an immediate notice that the families affected are kept in the loop.
"Everyone needs to look at this as a top priority at every level of government, and we're pushing them to make sure that they do," Kennedy said.
