Holley residents deal with the unknown

The fear of the unknown has the residents of this village tightly in its grasp. That fear was evident on the tear stained face of Tanya Hundley as she shivered in the parking lot of Brockport's Holiday Inn - the place she has called home since the January 5 chemical release from Diaz forced her and her family to evacuate their home.

"The Health Department just said they can't guarantee the health of my kids," she said, crying. "They don't know anything."

Hundley, her family, and more than 50 affected residents of this town of 2,000 packed a conference room January 10. During a closed door session they met with health department officials, toxicologists, a representative from the environmental conservation department and an attorney.

Residents have been up in arms since more than 80 gallons of chemicals were released into the air following the malfunction of a release valve late Saturday, January 5. The chemical was a mixture of phenolics with toluene and water. Homeowners could smell the fumes seeping into their homes but many were unaware of the cause until they either heard from a neighbor the following morning or saw on the news that there had been a problem at the Diaz Chemical Corporation plant on Jackson Street in the village.

For many of the residents, according to Sandra Jennings, there has been no contact from Diaz. "They should have sounded the alarm," she said. "We should have had the opportunity to get out." Village officials, at a January 8 board meeting, said they felt it was safer for residents to shelter where they were. Residents say the fact that they breathed in the fumes, some of them for more than 24 hours, was something that they could have avoided had they been warned of the chemical leak when it occurred.

Barbara McAllister, who was visiting her daughter at the time, said she was told the reason neither Diaz nor village officials contacted residents was because they didn't want "us out in the streets."

"Well I was out walking my dog when it was happening … I was walking in and breathing in those chemicals," she said. "My daughter called 911 Saturday and she was informed that the fumes were not toxic … the smell was terrible."

Jennings said the 911 operator should not have told her the chemicals released were not toxic because at that point no one knew exactly what had been released.

"Diaz should have sounded the alarm," she said. "This whole thing was handled poorly and our village officials are not qualified to determine the health risks of an unknown chemical."

Margaret McAllister, who lives at the corner of Main and Jackson Streets, said she has received reimbursements from Diaz's insurers for clothing and for the use of a rental vehicle, as well as the price of lodging at the hotel. Sharon Gurzynski, part of the Holley Environmental Action Committee, said the company has been in Holley since 1974.

Wayne Dickinson, with the Orleans County Health Department, said more information is needed and the department of health needs to be able to get into the houses to test.

"Short term effects of the chemical appear to be sore throat and headaches and some people have complained of skin irritation," he said. "The long term effects of the exposure are unknown."

Dickinson said the clean up crews have been advised to reclaim the water that has been washed from the houses for testing. The Department of Environmental Conservation was one of the entities responsible for determining clean up methods for the affected houses and vehicles in the village.

Many people said they had gone to local hospitals and doctors offices demanding blood be drawn and tested.

"Without having a baseline standard, from a test completed at least six months ago, doctors have no way to compare enzyme levels in an individuals' system," he said.

Dickinson advised residents to contact their physicians if they had questions.

Editor's note: A community meeting with residents and company and elected officials was scheduled for January 16. Due to an early deadline for the January 21 issue, Westside News postponed coverage of that meeting until January 28.