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IBM offers owners of contaminated houses US$10,000

The IBM Corp announced on Thursday that it was willing to pay US$10,000 each to the owners of nearly 500 contaminated homes in the upstate village of Endicott, New York, if the owners give up their right to sue for property damages caused by industrial pollution.

Residents have complained that ventilation systems IBM has installed in their homes since 2002 to prevent toxic vapors from building up in the basements have hurt property values. Last year they asked Attorney General Eliot Spitzer for help in protecting home values.

Spitzer's office negotiated with IBM for a year to develop the payment program, which is modeled after a similar effort in Rochester, New York. Endicott officials think the payments will help revive the village, compensate homeowners for lost real estate values and allow residents to improve their homes, creating spillover economic benefits. Homeowners would not be required to use the money for home improvements.

The owners of the 480 houses and a handful of commercial properties that were offered the ventilation systems are eligible to receive payments. Owners would give up the right to sue for property damages but would still be able to sue for personal injury.

The program could cost IBM more than US$5 million, and will be another costly step in the company's efforts to remediate hazards it helped create in this upstate village just west of Binghamton, where it got its start nearly a century ago. Other manufacturers also contributed to the pollution, but only IBM is helping clean it up.

"My gut reaction is that sounds like a buyout," said Edward Blaine, the director of a community outreach program who has owned a house in there for 31 years.

Blaine, 52, said he was not sure that he would accept the money and give up his right to sue if he cannot sell his house at market value.

"If I had to say yes or no right now I'd probably say no," he said. "I need to think about it."
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