Source: http://www.buffalonews.com, November 29, 2015
By: T.J. Pignataro

More toxins found in Lackawanna parcel

The land surrounding the former Lackawanna incinerator is more contaminated with heavy metals and carcinogenic chemicals than originally thought.
That’s why state environmental and health officials are calling for a more than 55 percent expansion of the incinerator’s Superfund site footprint at 2960 South Park Ave.
A recent Department of Environmental Conservation notice stated that more than four additional acres should be added to the original 7.6-acre parcel after studies revealed elevated levels of toxic lead, arsenic and other contaminants in adjoining properties. Those include the nearby southern bank of Smokes Creek.
“The original site boundary was based on tax map parcels for the site, yet information gathered during the remedial investigation has indicated that disposal of site-related ash has occurred on the southern embankment of the creek,” according to the public notice filed Nov. 9.
Most of that additional area runs along the south bank of Smokes Creek from about 500 feet west of the incinerator site to more than a quarter-mile east of there, according to a map attached to the notice.
The City of Lackawanna burned garbage in the incinerator from the 1920s until 1980. The contamination likely resulted from the disposal of incinerator ash there.
Two red brick incinerator structures remain at the site, and are in plain view just over the eastern goalpost of the football field of Lackawanna Veterans Stadium. The stadium property is adjacent to the Superfund site to the west.
The contaminants were found in surface and below ground soil at the incinerator site and adjacent properties. Sampling did not reveal contaminants in either the waters of Smokes Creek or its sediment, however.
Even so, because the toxic elements are open to the environment at the surface, it’s possible that passers-by at the creek bank could be exposed there or along a nearby recreation trail, which remains open to the public.
The southern end of the Superfund site backs up to Reddon Street and the vast Baker Victory Services property on Martin Road.
A remedial investigation conducted last year by Syracuse-based EA Engineering found “elevated concentrations of inorganic constituents,” including arsenic and lead on nearby land operated by Baker Victory Services, which provides services for the developmentally disabled, residential group homes, educational programming and foster care.
That led to the removal of nearly 8,000 cubic feet of contaminated soil – enough to cover 1½ regulation-sized football fields a foot deep – along the northern and western perimeters of the Baker Victory property.
The soil – which weighed an estimated 12,800 tons – was hauled off-site and disposed of before the land was backfilled with clean fill. That work, estimated to cost about $1 million, was completed in early June and certified as properly done in October, according to the DEC.
Construction is continuing on the north end of Baker Victory Services property, where an expected $16 million residential treatment center for those with psychiatric and behavioral issues is to be located. Wood framing was already erected at the site last week.
Officials from Baker Victory Services weren’t immediately available to comment on the recent DEC notice.
Meanwhile, DEC officials are figuring out how best to clean up the incinerator site itself.
The DEC is in the process of drafting a plan for remediating the incinerator property and Smokes Creek corridor. That plan should be issued sometime in the next six months. Public input will be sought at that time before final decisions on how to handle the cleanup are made.
The cost for that cleanup is not yet determined.
The state Superfund will bear the initial burden for the cleanup, but DEC legal officials could seek reimbursement from the City of Lackawanna for those costs.
State officials are also evaluating whether any applicable environmental laws were violated.
Lackawanna officials couldn’t be reached for comment.