Hoosick Falls is a small village in Rensselaer County, New York — the kind of place that doesn’t usually make national news. That changed in late 2014 when a local resident, suspicious about the water, paid for private testing that revealed perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in the village water supply at 540 parts per trillion.
At the time, the EPA’s provisional health advisory for PFOA was 400 ppt. Hoosick Falls’ water was already above that. When the EPA revised the advisory downward to 70 ppt in 2016, the village’s levels were nearly eight times the new limit.
The source: Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics and Honeywell International, which had used PFOA in manufacturing Teflon-coated products at facilities in and around the village for decades.
How the Contamination Was Found
The official story of Hoosick Falls’ contamination didn’t start with government testing. It started with Michael Hickey, a village resident whose father had died of kidney cancer. Hickey had read about PFOA contamination at DuPont’s plant in Parkersburg, West Virginia and wondered whether the Saint-Gobain facility in his town might be causing similar problems.
He collected water samples and sent them to a lab. The results confirmed his suspicion — PFOA was present at levels far above anything considered safe.
Hickey took the results to village officials, the state Department of Health, and the EPA. The response was initially slow. Village officials disputed the significance of the findings. The state health department’s initial response downplayed the risk. It took months of pressure — from Hickey, from concerned residents, and eventually from media coverage — before the government agencies took decisive action.
In January 2016, the EPA issued a rare emergency order recommending that Hoosick Falls residents not drink the water. The state followed with its own advisories. It was a turning point — not just for Hoosick Falls, but for PFAS awareness nationally.
The Contamination Sources
Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics operated a facility in Hoosick Falls that used PFOA as a processing aid in manufacturing non-stick coatings and other fluoropolymer products. The chemical was released into the environment through wastewater discharge and air emissions over decades of operation.
Honeywell International is also named as a responsible party, connected to historical operations at the site.
PFOA migrated from the industrial facilities into the village’s groundwater — the same groundwater that fed the municipal wells. The contamination plume affected not just the public supply but private wells in the surrounding area.
Testing eventually revealed PFOA in dozens of private wells around Hoosick Falls and the neighboring town of Hoosick, some at levels exceeding 1,000 ppt.
The Health Impact
PFOA is one of the most studied PFAS compounds, and the science on its health effects is clear enough to have driven regulatory action:
- Cancer — PFOA is classified as a likely human carcinogen. Studies of exposed populations (particularly in Parkersburg, WV) found elevated rates of kidney cancer and testicular cancer.
- Thyroid disease — PFOA exposure is associated with thyroid dysfunction.
- Immune effects — reduced antibody response to vaccines.
- Reproductive effects — increased risk of pregnancy-induced hypertension and preeclampsia.
- Cholesterol — elevated levels even at relatively low exposures.
Blood testing of Hoosick Falls residents found PFOA serum levels significantly above the national average. Some residents had blood levels among the highest documented in the country outside of occupational exposure.
The health anxiety in a small community like this is its own kind of harm. Residents who’d drunk the water for years, fed it to their children, and bathed in it every day suddenly learned they’d been exposed to a probable carcinogen. The psychological toll compounds the physical risk.
The Response and Cleanup
Once the crisis was acknowledged, the response moved through several phases:
Immediate: The village installed a granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration system on its municipal wells to strip PFOA from the drinking water. Bottled water was provided to residents while treatment was being set up.
Interim: The GAC system brought PFOA levels in treated water down to non-detect or near non-detect. The village also connected to an alternative water source (Tomhannock Reservoir) to reduce dependence on contaminated groundwater.
Long-term: Saint-Gobain and Honeywell agreed to fund a new water supply connection and treatment infrastructure under consent orders with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The companies have also funded blood testing and health monitoring for affected residents.
Private wells: Residents on private wells with elevated PFOA were provided with point-of-entry treatment systems or connected to the municipal supply. Testing and treatment for private wells has been an ongoing process.
New York State’s Response
Hoosick Falls became a catalyst for PFAS regulation in New York State. In 2020, the state established maximum contaminant levels for PFOA at 10 ppt and PFOS at 10 ppt — far more protective than the federal health advisory at the time and among the strictest in the nation.
The state also created an emerging contaminant monitoring program requiring public water systems to test for a broader range of PFAS compounds.
When the EPA finalized national PFAS drinking water standards in 2024 at 4 ppt for PFOA and PFOS, New York was already ahead of the curve — though some advocates argue that even 4-10 ppt isn’t protective enough given the science on low-dose exposure.
What Residents Can Do Today
The village water supply is being treated and monitored, and PFOA levels in delivered water have been at or below detection limits since treatment was installed. But for additional peace of mind:
Reverse osmosis at the point of use remains the gold standard for PFAS removal in the home. RO systems typically remove more than 90% of PFOA and PFOS.
Activated carbon filters certified for PFAS can also reduce levels, though they’re generally less effective than RO for the full range of PFAS compounds.
If you’re on a private well in the Hoosick Falls or Town of Hoosick area, get your water tested if you haven’t already. Free testing programs have been available through the state, and treatment systems have been provided for wells exceeding state MCLs.
Blood testing — if you lived in Hoosick Falls during the contamination period and haven’t been tested, blood serum PFOA testing can establish your exposure level and inform health monitoring decisions with your doctor.
If you’re concerned about your water quality, a certified water treatment professional can test your water and recommend the right treatment system for your specific situation.
Lessons from Hoosick Falls
Hoosick Falls is a story about what happens when a single persistent resident pushes back against institutional inertia. Without Michael Hickey’s decision to pay for a water test — and his refusal to accept dismissive responses — the contamination might have gone undetected for years longer.
It’s also a story about how small communities bear outsized environmental burdens. A village of 3,500 people had neither the resources nor the political leverage to force action from multinational corporations. It took federal intervention, state regulatory action, and extensive media coverage to get results.
The contamination is being addressed. The water is being treated. But the PFOA is still in the ground, and it’s still in the blood of people who drank that water for decades. For Hoosick Falls, the crisis has a treatment — but not a cure.
Sources: EPA Region 2 emergency response records, New York State Department of Health, New York DEC consent orders, ATSDR PFAS exposure assessment, Village of Hoosick Falls water quality reports, EPA ECHO database.