Community members in the Southern Tier of New York State are working together to fix decades of toxic chemical exposure that has threatened the health of citizens.

According to the Press and Sun Bulletin, citizen activism has instigated a drive to remove trichloroethylene (TCE) from the area. The toxic chemical first appeared in the Village of Endicott in 1979 after a spill of thousands of gallons of cleaning solvents used at the IBM plant; however, the long-term effects have all but gone away.

Endicott Residents say that the pollution has caused cancer and even death to those who were unknowingly exposed to the chemical for years. Scientists who recently studied the area found an increasing rate of testicular and kidney cancers, and heart defects in residents who had been exposed.

The community is bringing the concerns up with the legislature this week in a hope to help the town recover from its losses. Residents will meet with state and federal scientists to discuss a study done on cancer rates in the polluted area and the steps to fix the problem. Federal scientists for the National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health are scheduled to meet with workers to outline steps for a $3.2 million study to track cancer rates at the IBM Endicott plant. A court order is expected to be filed in the state Supreme Court outlining schedules and rules for proceeding with a case that 1,000 community members have brought against IBM related to the pollution.