"One of the most remarkable environmental messes in local history was triggered 41 years ago when a train derailment dumped 200 tons of toxic chemicals on the porous bedrock of rural Genesee County."

"It was the single largest spill on record in New York state of the human carcinogen known as trichloroethene, or TCE. It fouled 4 ½ square miles — an area nearly as large as all of southeast Rochester, from Genesee Valley Park to the Inner Loop to the East Avenue Wegmans.

But after a brief emergency response, local officials walked away. State and federal government agencies charged with addressing environmental contamination overlooked the accident — for nearly 20 years. ...

That changed precipitously in January, when national attention was drawn to Le Roy by the cluster of young people there displaying unusual neurological symptoms. People in Le Roy and far beyond began looking for causes — and fingers began pointing back at the gigantic TCE spill."

Steve Orr reports for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle April 1, 2012. [2]