State downgrades threat level of Superfund site in Glen Cove
A recent view of the Powers Chemo site in Glen Cove, a state Superfund site that government officials said no longer poses a significant threat to people and the environment after remediation efforts. Credit: Rick Kopstein
A state Superfund site in Glen Cove that a manufacturing company once used as a dumping ground is no longer a significant threat to people and the environment following remediation measures, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
The location, known as the Powers Chemco Site, is a 1.9-acre vacant lot at 71 Charles St. in Glen Cove.
The state's Superfund program identifies and cleans up areas marred by hazardous waste.
The DEC changed the plot's designation from class 2, which indicates a significant threat, to class 4, or a site that no longer poses a significant threat but still is in need of monitoring, on its hazardous site classification list. A class 5 site no longer needs to be managed.
The agency’s records say Columbia Ribbon and Carbon Manufacturing Company released waste from the production of blue printing inks, carbon paper and typing ribbon into open pits behind its manufacturing buildings at the site, which operated before 1979. Waste also was pumped into the pits directly from the former plant, according to the DEC, which conducted the cleanup.
The agency said Powers Chemco, which bought the plot to use as a parking lot, found the contamination in 1983. A $5.5 million cleanup effort began in 2014 after a previous attempt to remove the contamination fell short, Newsday previously reported.
The DEC said workers excavated the site and disposed of contaminated soil that couldn't be cleaned. Chemical treatment was used to address groundwater contamination, according to the agency.
State officials said other measures, including restricted use of groundwater at the property and annual checkups of the location, will remain in place.
The site is near the eastern end of Glen Cove Creek, which empties into Hempstead Harbor.
“We’re happy that after all of these years, this property has finally been cleaned up and reclassified,” said Michelle Lapinel McAllister, program director for the nonprofit group Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor.
A state Superfund site in Glen Cove that a manufacturing company once used as a dumping ground is no longer a significant threat to people and the environment following remediation measures, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
The location, known as the Powers Chemco Site, is a 1.9-acre vacant lot at 71 Charles St. in Glen Cove.
The state's Superfund program identifies and cleans up areas marred by hazardous waste.
The DEC changed the plot's designation from class 2, which indicates a significant threat, to class 4, or a site that no longer poses a significant threat but still is in need of monitoring, on its hazardous site classification list. A class 5 site no longer needs to be managed.
The agency’s records say Columbia Ribbon and Carbon Manufacturing Company released waste from the production of blue printing inks, carbon paper and typing ribbon into open pits behind its manufacturing buildings at the site, which operated before 1979. Waste also was pumped into the pits directly from the former plant, according to the DEC, which conducted the cleanup.
The agency said Powers Chemco, which bought the plot to use as a parking lot, found the contamination in 1983. A $5.5 million cleanup effort began in 2014 after a previous attempt to remove the contamination fell short, Newsday previously reported.
The DEC said workers excavated the site and disposed of contaminated soil that couldn't be cleaned. Chemical treatment was used to address groundwater contamination, according to the agency.
State officials said other measures, including restricted use of groundwater at the property and annual checkups of the location, will remain in place.
The site is near the eastern end of Glen Cove Creek, which empties into Hempstead Harbor.
“We’re happy that after all of these years, this property has finally been cleaned up and reclassified,” said Michelle Lapinel McAllister, program director for the nonprofit group Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor.
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