Safe to Drink 2: A flash of genius
Jan 29, 2026
Michael Hickey, a Hoosick Falls community member and insurance underwriter who probed local water after his father’s death. He explains secretly sampling wells, finding high PFOA levels, and pushing for testing and treatment. The conversation traces the chemical’s origins, regulatory gaps, legal fallout, and how one town’s discovery spurred testing elsewhere.
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Personal Quest Uncovers Contamination
- Michael Hickey suspected a pattern of cancer in Hoosick Falls and traced it to local water near the St. Gobain plant.
- He tested water himself and found high PFOA levels after his father's kidney cancer death.
Undercover Water Sampling
- Michael secretly collected water from Dollar General and McDonald's bathrooms as proxies for raw well water.
- A Canadian lab confirmed PFOA levels over 400 parts per trillion at his father's house.
Guidelines Aren't The Same As Regulation
- Even with PFOA above the EPA guideline, Hoosick Falls faced no legal requirement to act because PFOA wasn't regulated.
- EPA guidance existed but was nonbinding, so compliance didn't force remediation.
