Contamination cleanup in East Rockaway
Source: http://liherald.com, January 28, 2015
By: Mary Malloy
A work plan to clean up contaminated soil in East Rockaway was scheduled to start this week, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Under New York State’s Brownfield Cleanup program, the work to address the contamination will be done at the Minute Man Cleaners site at 89 Ocean Ave. Ben Ley Enterprises, Inc. will perform the cleanup with oversight provided by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The goal of the cleanup action, said the DEC, is for the site is to achieve levels that protect public health and the environment.
The cleanup action for the site includes:
• In-situ chemical oxidation of residual contaminated soil and groundwater. ISCO is a technology used to treat volatile organic compounds in the soil and groundwater. The process injects a chemical oxidant into the subsurface. The chemical oxidant will be applied onsite through multiple injection points.
• Performance groundwater sampling after the subsurface injections is completed to evaluate the effectiveness of the injections.
• Continued operation of the soil vapor extraction system
• Institutional controls in the form of an environmental easement will require periodic certification of institutional and engineering controls allowing for commercial and industrial use of the controlled property, restricting groundwater usage at the site, evaluation of the potential for on-site soil vapor intrusion if the use of PCE on-site is discontinued; and a provision for the consideration of sampling upon request from the property owner in offsite locations where access was previously refused in the past.
Background on the site
The site was developed in 1968 for a pizzeria and restaurant and later used as a retail clothing store. Ben Ley Enterprises purchased it in 1982.
According to the proprietor of Minute Man Cleaners, approximately half a dozen “acute” leaks of PCE occurred between 1983 and 1987 due to broken gaskets within the machine. At these times, spillage was observed underneath and behind the dry cleaning machine moving eastward towards the joint between the floor and the eastern wall of the facility, approximately three feet east of the dry cleaning machine.
In 1987 all of the gaskets and cartridge tubes within the machine were replaced. In March 2000, the dry cleaning machine was replaced with a new state-of-the-art unit and placed in the same location as the previous machine.
During the low tide, groundwater flows east towards the Mill River. While during the high tide, groundwater flows in westerly direction (away from the Mill River).
Developing a site management plan
An IRM was completed at the site in 2008 and consisted of removal of shallow soils around the dry cleaning machine in accessible areas inside the building and outside the building; a single application consisting of the placing of potassium permanganate into excavation pits for ISCO treatment of impacted soil and groundwater; and installation of soil vapor extraction system for the remaining impacted unsaturated soils and to provide soil vapor mitigation.
Next steps
After the applicant completes the cleanup activities, they will prepare a Final Engineering Report and submit it to NYSDEC. This report will describe the cleanup activities completed, and certify that cleanup requirements have been achieved or will be achieved. When NYSDEC is satisfied that cleanup requirements have been achieved or will be achieved for the site, it will approve the final engineering report. NYSDEC will then issue a Certificate of Completion to the applicant.
