A Long Standing Relationship With Calgon Carbon Recognized on Earth Day

In honor of Earth Day, Senator Rob Ortt (R,C,I – North Tonawanda) today recognized Calgon Carbon for its commitment to protect residents through its environmental filtration efforts to provide clean air and drinking water. Thanks to Calgon Carbon, on March 30, after weeks of installation and system flushing, the Village of Hoosick Falls’ municipal water supply was deemed safe for drinking. Hoosick Falls is employing the use of granular activated carbon (GAC) for the removal of PFOA from the Village’s drinking water.  The Village will continue to use GAC for drinking water purification purposes.

This use of GAC in Hoosick Falls has a tie to North Tonawanda, NY where, in 2010, Senator Robert Ortt, then the Mayor of North Tonawanda, saw an opportunity to take a public/private partnership to another level.

At the time, Calgon Carbon Corporation, a world leader in the manufacturing of granular activated carbon, had been supplying North Tonawanda with granular activated carbon (GAC) to be used as a filtration medium for the city’s municipal wastewater for nearly 15 years.

In June 2014, with help and leadership from New York State Senator Ortt, Calgon Carbon officially opened an 8,000 square foot granular activated carbon recycling – or reactivation – facility in North Tonawanda. Calgon Carbon renovated and redesigned the existing, but seldom used, reactivation equipment to recycle nearly 12 million pounds of granular activated carbon for drinking water purification purposes throughout the region.  The North Tonawanda facility was then certified by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) International under NSF/ANSI Standard 61: Drinking Water System Components – Health Effects for custom reactivated carbon for potable water applications, and the granular activated carbon products were certified by the New York State Department of Health for drinking water applications in New York.  Calgon Carbon operates similar granular activated carbon recycling facilities for drinking water applications in Arizona, Ohio, and in Europe.

At the time of its opening, Calgon Carbon’s North Tonawanda Plant provided 16 new jobs to the area and contributed roughly 1.5 million dollars to the local economy through its construction, and continues to be a positive local impact with an annual payroll of more than $1 million, including direct payroll, benefits, and overtime.  The plant also pays out over $1 million annually for support services and supplies.

New York State Senator Rob Ortt (R,C,I – North Tonawanda) said, "As Mayor, I was pleased to work with Calgon Carbon to bring jobs to North Tonawanda. Now, as State Senator, it's encouraging to see a local company providing solutions to air and water purity challenges at the state and national level.  Western New York has an unfortunate legacy of contamination, so this issue is very dear to us.  So, I applaud Calgon Carbon for their contributions to our local economy, but also the fine work they're doing for our friends in Hoosick Falls."

"Calgon Carbon is a true North Tonawanda success story," said the city’s current Mayor Art Pappas. "Their innovative technology and dedicated workforce are making significant contributions across New York and across the country. This shows that we can create jobs locally and protect public health."

Granular activated carbon (GAC) purifies air and water through a process called adsorption, and is considered to be one of the best available technologies for the removal of organic materials, such as PFOA/PFOC, TCE and PCE, and algal toxins from water. Once the carbon has adsorbed all it can, it must be removed from the filter and either disposed or reactivated (recycled) for continued use.

"Through testing and more than 20 years of experience with PFOAs in other states, Calgon Carbon has demonstrated the effectiveness of granular activated carbon to successfully remove PFOAs from drinking water," said Nora Stockhausen, Calgon Carbon’s Vice President of Municipal and Reactivation.  “We have a close working relationship with the Village of Hoosick Falls, providing a granular activated carbon drinking water treatment process to treat thousands of gallons of drinking water per day.  We also have a close working relationship with the NY Department of Environmental Conservation, providing a granular activated carbon product for use in the point-of-entry devices they are providing."

In addition to North Tonawanda and Hoosick Falls, Calgon Carbon supplies GAC for use at more than 500 sites across the state of New York to remove unwanted organic materials from water. 

"Reports from the Governor's office that Hoosick Falls' water is presently showing no detectable levels of contaminants is terrific, welcome news for the entire community. Calgon Carbon deserves credit for providing a product that helped remove PFOAs from the local water supply and, in so doing, take an important step toward resolving this situation. Having access to clean, safe drinking water isn't a luxury -- it's a fundamental necessity. I'm glad that Calgon Carbon was able to be part of the solutions we are working toward for Hoosick Falls," said New York State Senator Kathy Marchione (R,C,I-Halfmoon), Chair of the Senate's Local Government Committee.

About Senator Ortt

Robert G. Ortt was sworn into office as a New York State Senator in January of 2015. Prior to representing the 62^nd district in the State Senate, he served as City Treasurer, Clerk-Treasurer, and Mayor of North Tonawanda. Ortt is a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and the recipient of the Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal, Afghan Campaign Medal, and Combat Infantryman’s Badge. Ortt also has experience as an independent personal financial analyst. He lives in North Tonawanda with his wife Meghan.

About Senator Marchione

Kathleen A. Marchione was first elected to the New York State Senate in 2012 and re-elected in 2014 to continue representing families of the 43^rd Senate District, which includes parts of Rensselaer, Saratoga and Washington Counties, and all of Columbia County. Senator Marchione Chairs the Senate’s Committee on Local Government, in addition to serving on several Senate Standing Committees including Aging; Banks; Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation; Elections; Finance; Racing, Gaming and Wagering, and Veterans, Military Affairs and Homeland Security.Senator Marchione also serves on the Joint Senate Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction, the Senate Task Force on Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases and the Senate Task Force on Workforce Development.

About Calgon Carbon

Calgon Carbon Corporation (NYSE:CCC) is a global leader in innovative solutions, high quality products and reliable services designed to protect human health and the environment from harmful contaminants in water, and air.  As a leading manufacturer of activated carbon products, with broad capabilities in ultraviolet light disinfection, the Company provides purification solutions for drinking water, wastewater, pollution abatement, and a variety of industrial and commercial manufacturing processes.

Calgon Carbon is the world’s largest producer of granular activated carbon and supplies more than 100 types of activated carbon products - in granular, powdered, pelletized and cloth form – for more than 700 distinct applications.  The company also has more than 27 sales and service centers throughout the world.

For more information about Calgon Carbon’s leading activated carbon and ultraviolet technology solutions for municipalities and industries, visit www.calgoncarbon.com.