While renewing their call for stricter pollution controls at the Goodyear plant in Niagara Falls, environmental activists presented an award on Monday to a former New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)employee turned whistle blower.
Former DEC engineer Dylan Keenan was praised for taking a stand even when it meant losing his job.
A few years ago Keenan was invovled in the review of the emissions permit for Goodyear and raised questions about the amount of a chemical called ortho-toluidine, known to cause bladder cancer in humans, being emitted from the plant.
His report also included his suspicions that documentation submitted by the company was inaccurate.
Keenan claimed in a federal court lawsuit that while he was initially praised for his thoroughness, his bosses at the DEC eventually told him to water down his reports and de-emphasize references to bladder cancer and the alleged discrepancies he discovered.
Instead, Keenan shared his findings with the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the NY State Attorney General, which he says resulted in disciplinary action and the eventual loss if his job.
"I am here because my findings were thorough and truthful and I stood behind them," said Keenan. "Fulfilling my ethical obligations as a licensed engineer to hold paramount the safety health and welfare of the public."
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