by Jerry Burke
Nassau County District Attorney Denis Dillon made the announcement last week that Todd Zeidman, who ran the day-to-day operations of the dry cleaners, was the one responsible for the handling of the perchloroethylene (tetrachloroethylene), a chemical solvent which removes dirt and stains from clothing used primarily by dry cleaners.
"In Sept. 2002, the County Department of Health referred a complaint to my office alleging that the defendant regularly dumped chemicals into the toilet at Millennium Cleaners," said Dillon. "Our subsequent investigation determined - from sewer samples obtained by the Dept. of Public Works and from samples of liquid and sludge obtained, under a search warrant, from the traps in the discharge pipes at the cleaners - that perc was being illegally discharged into the sewer system."
According to the EPA website, perchloroethylene, often called perc, is a clear, colorless, non-flammable liquid with a sweetish smell like the smell of ether. Short-term exposure results in skin and eye irritation and possible drunk-like reactions.
Some environmental studies have suggested that repeated, frequent overexposure to perc over months or years may have long-lasting and possibly permanent effects on the nervous system. The exposure levels at which these effects occur are not yet known.
The symptoms of these long-term effects include fatigue, poor muscle coordination, difficulty in concentrating, loss of short-term memory, and personality changes such as increased anxiety, nervousness and irritability. Liver damage and cancer have been caused by large amounts of perc in lab animals, but the EPA warns that only people who have suffered the short-term affects over a long period are at great risk.
"Discharge of liquid perc into the sewer system is prohibited by county and state laws," added Dillon, "unless prior authorization has been obtained and pretreatment has been performed to neutralize the chemical's harmful effects."
Zeidman has been charged with one count each of endangering public health, safety or the environment in the third degree and unlawful discharge of industrial waste to a publicly owned treatment works. Both of the charges are class E felonies under the state's Environmental Conservation Law and are punishable by up to four years in prison and fines up to $100,000. Zeidman could no be reached for comment.
