In the latest article published by The Buffalo News examining the discovery of potential radioactive contamination on more than 120 properties in western New York, Harter Secrest & Emery Partner Thomas M. Tuori provided insight on the importance of transparency and public health implications, and the challenges associated with environmental remediation. The article details ongoing state and federal efforts to investigate properties that may contain buried radioactive waste, as well as residents’ concerns about the limited information released to date.
Tuori emphasized that government agencies should publicly disclose information about contaminated properties to provide current owners with an understanding of the risks on their properties and to help prevent future purchasers from unknowingly acquiring impacted properties, as has occurred in the region for decades. Drawing on his many years of experience dealing with this issue, he noted the significant costs and complexities associated with cleanup efforts and suggested that substantial public funding (possibly hundreds of millions of dollars) may be required to remediate impacted properties and that the responsible parties should be held accountable so that the costs of the region-wide cleanup effort are not borne by taxpayers or individual property owners.