by Chris Knight, in Saranac Lake, NY
A firefighter stands under a decontamination shower as he is scrubbed down after going into a garage where low-level radioactive material was found Wednesday night in Saranac Lake. Photo: Chris Knight, courtesy Adirondack Daily Enterprise
August 28, 2015
Saranac Lake, NY
Hazardous materials teams from two counties were called to Saranac Lake Wednesday night after unknown chemicals were found in a garage on a vacant lot. Crews ultimately found “low-level radioactive material" on the property they said poses no health threat to the public.
The hazardous materials are connected to a former Saranac Lake man convicted last year of running an alternative energy investment scheme.
Saranac Lake Fire Chief Brendan Keough said the unknown material was found after village crews were called to a water leak on the property in the Helen Hill neighborhood. "It's a garage underground," he said. "There was a house on top of it that burned and was torn down a number of years ago, but they kept the garage part underneath. There's some material in the garage we're concerned about."
The lot has been owned by William Stehl, who was sentenced in January to 12 years in prison for his role in an investment scheme that bilked more than 300 people out of $8.1 million. Stehl convinced them to invest in an alternative energy source he was developing called BGX. In the lead-up to his trial, Stehl suffered gruesome injuries in a chemical explosion at the laboratory he was working at in California. Aurora White, Stehl’s daughter, was the one who found the chemicals Wednesday and called the fire department. She said it had been sitting there for a long time.
Hazmat teams from Franklin and Clinton counties were called to the scene. Firefighters blocked off the property and closed the neighborhood to vehicle traffic. They told people to stay inside their homes. Three village workers who had responded to the water leak were checked out with Geiger counters and sent through a decontamination station.
It was nearly 2 am Thursday when crews left the scene. Keough said the material in the garage was found to have low levels of radioactivity after a “barrage” of tests.
The origin of the material, which has yet to be removed as of Thursday, and any connection to Stehl is still under investigation, the chief explained.