DEC & US EPA announce community availability session July 20 at Niagara Falls Convention Center

Experts to provide updates and answer questions about ongoing radiological survey

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation press release

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in coordination with the state Department of Health, announced a joint community availability session about the ongoing radiological survey of Niagara and Erie counties will be held at 5 p.m. Monday, July 20. The community availability session will be held in the Niagara Falls Convention Center as part of the latest steps in the coordinated effort to keep the community informed throughout the survey initiative. 

“DEC is committed to ensuring Western New Yorkers are informed of the extensive efforts underway to protect public health and provide more certainty for property owners where additional investigation of radiological material is needed,” DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton said. “In coordination with EPA, we look forward to providing the latest update on the Niagara and Erie County radiological assessment and provide an opportunity to connect one-on-one to help directly address resident concerns.” 

EPA Regional Administrator Michael Martucci said, “EPA is pleased to partner with DEC in this meeting. Together, we will provide residents with clear information about what we know, what we are still investigating, and what happens next. This session will bring our technical experts into the community to explain the EPA and DEC survey work, answer questions, and speak directly with property owners.” 

The community availability session will begin at 5 p.m. with a presentation by EPA and DEC. Topics will include an update on survey data collection phases to date, anticipated timeline for next steps, revisions to the prior access agreement and process for testing, and how contamination is addressed if manmade sources of selected radiological levels are identified, among other topics. Following the presentation, attendees will be able to directly engage with DEC and EPA experts one-on-one to address individual questions. 

All are welcome to attend this free event. Registration is not required. The session will take place at the Niagara Falls Convention Center, 101 Old Falls St., Niagara Falls. 

More about Niagara and Erie County radiological assessment (NECRA)

DEC and EPA are prioritizing community safety while continuing the significant progress underway in the Niagara and Erie County radiological assessment (NECRA) project. This proactive effort, based on the use and distribution of biproducts and waste material containing radiological material, is being performed out of an abundance of caution. To date, no acute health risks have been found to emanate from publicly accessible rights-of-way and testing and analysis of properties are continuing. 

The NECRA project is comprised of three phases: phase 1 aerial survey, phase 2 roadway survey, and phase 3 ground surveys.

Phase 1, aerial survey, was initiated in 2023 and completed in summer 2024 and used an EPA aircraft equipped with radiological sensors to fly both counties. The survey resulted in 15,000-plus nautical miles of linear coverage and more than 500,000 data points. 

Phase 2, roadway survey, targeted areas of known historical biproducts and waste material use. In the summer of 2025, approximately 1,000 miles were surveyed, reaching 95% coverage of the target area. The remaining segments are expected to be completed in summer 2026. The dataset from these two surveys were modeled and locations of interest were identified based on radiological variations from adjacent areas. These differences may be the result of natural features (e.g., glacial deposits or bedrock), manmade features (e.g., brick buildings or granite curb stones), or radiological materials from industrial processes.

Phase 3, initiated in summer 2025, follows the aerial and roadway work to determine potential sources of radiological variation. DEC and EPA are working with individual property owners to seek access to properties of interest for additional investigation and will address questions and other data needs during the efforts to obtain site access for follow-up surveys. 

Language interpretation services shall be made available to persons with limited English proficiency, including American Sign Language, at no cost. DEC will make every effort to fulfill these requests. Requests can be directed to NYSDEC by mail (address: NYSDEC, 625 Broadway, Albany, N.Y. 12233-1010), email ([email protected]), or phone 518-485-7358.