A former IBM'er who lived close to the plant tells Fox 40 they’re worried their medical issues, may be tied to the exposure. Mild tremors and short-term memory loss currently being treated by a neurologist.

The worker, who was part of a 2015 class action settlement against IBM, asked to remain anonymous because the agreement included a gag order.

They add that even though they live in a neighborhood where high levels of TCE was detected, they say the DEC refused their request to test their home.

Environmental firm toxics targeting says DEC's own data shows TCE soil vapor intrusion levels from 2018, ranged from 15 to 40,000.

Greatly exceeding the state Department of Health’s threshold of 2 micrograms per cubic meter. Still higher than the old limit of 5 micrograms per cubic meter, before it was changed in 2015.

"The problem is that very likely a lot of the homes have not been properly tested in recent years or made sure that these sub-slab depressurization systems are keeping out the trichloroethylene from the indoor air," Toxics Targeting President Walter Hang said. 

Hang is calling on New York to test and investigate the homes in the area to make sure TCE doesn’t contaminate indoor air.

Hang spoke to an Ithaca woman who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s back in 2016. The woman lived on top of a toxic contamination plume that reportedly migrated from the old Ithaca Gun Factory to residential areas.

Following her basement air being contaminated with TCE at 12 micrograms per cubic meter, TCE was also detected in her front yard at 320 micrograms per cubic meter.

"This trichloroethylene contamination has just been migrating through this huge residential area all the way to the Susquehanna River," Hang said. 

The DEC responded to Fox 40 with the following statement about this situation:

"New York State has a proven track record of overseeing the investigation and cleanup of contaminated sites—including the Former IBM Endicott Facility in the village of Endicott, Broome County, under the State Superfund (SSF) program—as part of DEC’s ongoing mission to protect public health and the environment. When cleaning up a site, DEC prioritizes the protection of public health by working closely with our partners at the state Department of Health (DOH) to eliminate any potential exposure pathways; DEC then determines the appropriate cleanup that will be fully protective of the environment and the community." 

Fox 40 is also waiting on a response from the Department of Health.

Studies show that TCE exposure increases the risk of Parkinson's disease by as much as 500 percent.