Source: Watertown Daily Times (NY), March 23, 2015
Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com
Contaminants most likely dumped from the former New York Air Brake site off Starbuck Avenue decades ago were found and still linger in a small section of Kelsey Creek along the north bank near the North Watertown Cemetery.
An environmental consultant, Aecom Technical Services Northeast Inc., Latham, discovered remnants of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, and cadmium, a poisonous metal, in 2013 during a review of the cleanup completed during the 1990s.
The contaminants were detected on the north side of the creek in a half-acre site in the North Watertown Cemetery on Bradley Street, according to documents obtained by the Times.
East Division Street resident James P. Barker — who with his brother, Scott W. Barker, and a former neighbor, Andrew Williams, has expressed concerns in recent years about the cleanup — was not surprised that contaminants were detected.
“They did an excellent job to find exactly where the problem is,” Mr. Barker said.
The three men have been working with the California law firm made famous by environmental activist Erin Brockovich on possible litigation regarding the former Air Brake site.
During the spring and summer of 2013, Aecom conducted a 10-year review of the cleanup of Kelsey and Oily creeks to determine the conditions of the two tributaries. It was the fifth testing completed for the state Department of Environmental Conservation to determine whether the 1990s cleanup was successful.
It involved taking samples of soil, sediment, fish tissue and crayfish tissue, and surface and subsurface water specimens along Kelsey and Oily creeks.
PCBs and cadmium also were detected in the creek in elevated samples below the Route 12 bridge and the Cayuga Street bridge, although the 2013 levels are lower than a 2006 testing, according to the report.
As a result of the findings, Aecom Technical Services recommends more remediation work should be completed at the cemetery and where the sediments were found, according to the report.
It’s the first time that environmental consultants have recommended that additional work be done, DEC Region 6 spokesman Stephen W. Litwhiler said in an email.
Before the most recent testing, DEC was unaware that contaminants existed or that they should be removed, Mr. Litwhiler wrote.
The Times obtained the environmental consultant’s report after submitting a Freedom of Information request with DEC.
In recent years, a group of north side residents has called for additional testing because of concerns over toxic chemicals dumped at the former New York Air Brake site years ago.
The environmental firm concluded an oily material containing the PCBs was found in soil and sediment, according to the report’s findings. PCBs also were detected in the creek’s biota — prey fish and crayfish — “at levels of concern” near the cemetery and downstream. Kelsey Creek runs through the cemetery and underneath the Bradley Street bridge, more than a mile from from the former Air Brake plant on Starbuck Avenue.
Based on review of aerial photos, the site in the cemetery appeared to have been filled in before the cleanup in 1999, so it “was not fully removed,” according to the report.
The cleanup included removing only the top foot of soil along the two tributaries, so the contaminants were left behind, according documents obtained by the Times.
Residents have expressed concerns about levels of trichloroethylene, or TCE, and PCBs found in the neighborhood over the years. TCE and PCBs are carcinogens, while TCE also can cause nerve disorders. In the past, they have not mentioned cadmium, a soft, white metal that forms from smelting zinc, lead or copper ores. Exposure is not considered a major health concern, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
In recent years, residents and former neighbors have told stories about family members suffering nerve disorders, cancer and birth defects.
The environmental consultant also concluded no other environmental concerns exist and the levels of contaminants are decreasing. The report also does not mention finding any current levels of TCE.
“Throughout the rest of the stream system, no major potential exposures to contaminants of concern by the public or the environment were identified,” the report said.
DEC officials are working with the SPX Corp., the North Carolina company that was involved in previous Air Brake cleanup efforts, to put together a plan to complete the additional remediation work, Mr. Litwhiler wrote. Details of exactly what will be done or when have not been determined, he said.
“DEC and SPX Corporation, the responsible party, are discussing the design of a cleanup plan and program to address a newly identified area of contamination,” he wrote.
The environmental consultant started testing in April 2013 with 11 “Pisces” stations collecting samples from creek water flowing into the equipment over four weeks. The samples were removed on May 14 of that year; the fish and crayfish testing was completed in July. A final report was scheduled to be completed by the end of 2013.
Mr. Barker and Mr. Andrews questioned why it took until 2015 to release the report, criticizing DEC for not fulfilling a promise of transparency. Mr. Williams also questioned why a community meeting was not held to tell residents of the report’s findings, as was recommended by Aecom officials.
In 1995, DEC dredged Kelsey Creek and removed contaminants and soil. But residents said they believe pollutants got into the ground and spread off site and back into Kelsey Creek, causing subsequent health problems for them and their families.
In 2008, the DEC conducted “vapor intrusion” tests and found unacceptable levels of TCE, an industrial solvent used at the Air Brake plant decades ago, in four on-site buildings and a house at 431 E. Hoard St., which subsequently was equipped with an air-mitigation system.
In all, 43 houses, two schools and a church were tested off site.
Recently, Mr. Williams has called for more testing in the Starbuck and North Elementary schools and in homes in the neighborhood. He also recently shared hundreds of FOILed documents from DEC to the city of Watertown, Jefferson County and Watertown school district officials, calling on them to take action. The City Council recently showed no interest in getting involved in the issue.
Mr. Williams also has called for an investigation, claiming that DEC misled residents. Attorneys in California are working on the case and still plan to file a lawsuit, Mr. Williams said. More than 400 people could be part of the lawsuit.
He recently talked to a representative of the law firm, who told him the attorneys are still figuring out what aspects of the suit each of them will be handling, he said.
The Vititoe Law Group, the firm made famous by Ms. Brockovich, agreed to represent residents who believe they have suffered health problems from toxic chemicals. Los Angeles environmental attorney Thomas V. Girardi also is involved in the case.
If the case goes forward, the lawsuit most likely would be against New York Air Brake; Knorr-Bremse Group, the company’s current parent company, and SPX Corp.
The three men have contended some of the results from testing in 2007 and 2008 contained discrepancies and were manipulated to show there were no contaminants in the homes. Mr. Williams and Scott Barker, who now lives in Ohio, have suffered from nerve disorders and other ailments that they blame on the contaminants dumped from the Air Brake site decades ago.