The article concerning the conclusion of the State Police investigation into the cause of the Aug. 1 fire at TCI ("Police: No foul play in TCI fire," Oct. 12) contained two points that must be addressed.
First, TCI does not specialize "in dealing with high concentration (more than 500 parts per million) PCB-containing oils." TCI is a recycling and transportation business. We recycle only materials containing PCBs at concentrations of less than 50 parts per million. Any materials on our site that contained higher levels of PCBs were in transit, meaning we stored them, sealed, for 10 days or fewer, and then transported to their final destination.
Our work is regulated and overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency, the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the state Department of Health and the U.S. Department of Transportation. We follow all state and federal regulations in the handling of components and the materials inside them.
Second, your report flatly asserted that residents who live near our site "do not want the facility to be rebuilt." We have been very gratified by the many well-wishes and messages of support that we have received since the fire. To state as fact that residents do not want us to rebuild is to slight the views expressed by many of our neighbors in Columbia County.
BRIAN HEMLOCK
Vice President of Operations
Owner/Partner
TCI of New York LLC
Hudson