ENDICOTT, N.Y. (WBNG) -- Toxics Targeting is launching a new statewide campaign in New York to fight Parkinson’s Disease. The organization said it affected a business that has called Endicott home for years.
Walter Hang with Toxics Targeting detailed a link between Parkinson’s diagnosis and exposure to a solvent called Trichloroethylene. Hang said this chemical was found more than 40 years ago in the Endicott IBM building, but contamination has not been cleaned up.
Hang warns Endicott residents and former IBM workers that they may have been exposed.
“We want to reach out to all the families who either have Parkinson’s members with this horrible affliction or maybe they had someone in their family who recently passed away who worked at IBM for many years there can be survivor benefits.“
Hang is calling on state officials to clean up the contamination at the site of the old IBM building. Toxics Targeting has a questionnaire for people to fill out if they feel they might have been contaminated; you can find the questionnaire at this link.