The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has removed the Pasley Solvents and Chemicals site in Hempstead, N.Y. from the Superfund National Priorities List of the most hazardous waste sites after a successful cleanup of contaminated ground water and soil. The site no longer poses a threat to public health or the environment. EPA proposed to remove the site from the Superfund list in August 2011. EPA encouraged public comments on the proposal, but none were submitted.
“EPA completed the work at the Pasley Solvents and Chemicals site and made sure that the cleanup was effective before proposing to remove this site from the Superfund list,” said Judith A. Enck, EPA Regional Administrator. “Ground water is a source of drinking water for many Long Island residents, so cleaning up ground water contamination is a priority for EPA.”
The Pasley Solvents and Chemicals site is a former tank farm that was used for the storage of oil, solvents and chemicals. Chemicals stored at the site included a wide range of volatile organic compounds, including hydrocarbons, solvents, ketones and alcohols. Activities at the site, which contaminated the soil and ground water, included delivery and storage of chemicals in tanks and the transfer of the chemicals to large drums. The site was formerly owned by Commander Oil Corporation, which sold the property in 2003 to another company. The Metropolitan Transit Authority operates a police station there today.
EPA began cleanup work at the site in 1997. The agency used several technologies to extract volatile contaminants from both the soil and the ground water, ultimately removing approximately 14,000 pounds of volatile organic compounds. EPA monitored air and ground water to ensure the cleanup was effective. Ground water and soil cleanup work was completed in 2004.
In 2004, EPA concluded that the cleanup was protective of human health and the environment. All treatment equipment was removed from the site in August 2004. EPA conducted a second review of the cleanup in 2009 and determined again that the site no longer posed a threat to human health or the environment.
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