The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is proposing a cleanup of the former Zoe Chemical site on Falmouth Avenue in New Hyde Park. The department is currently seeking written public comment on the issue until Feb. 16. The location previously operated as a lumberyard.
The plan includes remedial measures that would see the removal of subsurface drainage structures and contaminated soils, according to a DEC report. The project entails the installation of a soil vapor extraction depressurization system, which applies a vacuum to a well to remove contaminated vapors. The recovered vapors are then treated and then discharged.
The DEC said in a notice distributed through its superfund program that operations at the site “have resulted in contamination of soil, groundwater and soil vapor at levels exceeding applicable standards.”
The site, owned by Seaboard Estates Inc., is located at 1801 Falmouth Ave. and sits behind New Hyde Park Memorial High School and Michael J. Tully Park. Seaboard did not return calls for comment.
An investigation in March 2013 found aldrin, dieldrin, mercury, phenol, trichloroethane and trichloroethene at the site, according to the report. Some of these chemicals are commonly used as metal part degreasers.
Contaminants were discovered near a storm drain, a possible cesspool and underground. The report also said indoor air quality near the site could be threatened by soil vapor intrusion (air spaces within the soil), “which in turn may move into overlying buildings,” but more testing is needed.
After the release of the report, Sewanhaka Central High School District administrators tested air samples and water at New Hyde Park. Everything came back negative, officials said.
“We didn’t have to [do the tests] but we just wanted to make sure that we protected everyone’s interest in terms of the school,” District Superintendent Dr. Ralph Ferrie said.
The site also borders a well field used by the Water Authority of Western Nassau County.
“The Water Authority has been treating the water supply for the well located next to the Zoe Chemical site since the late 1980s,” the water authority said in a recent statement. “The chemicals that are in the well’s raw water are trichloroethene and tetrachloroethene. There are no other chemicals detected in the raw water. The Water Authority has a treatment plant the removes these chemicals from the water. After treatment there are no detections of any chemicals in the water. The water that is supplied to our customers is the treated water which is safe and meets all federal, state and local regulations.”
The DEC report said the site was once operated by Zoe Chemical and CDC Products Corp., which handled chemicals on the site. Materials were stored inside and outside of the building.
However, contaminants that were found underground can not harm residents, the report said.
“Detections of chlorinated volatiles, petroleum volatiles, semi-volatiles, pesticides and metals were detected above unrestricted use cleanup objectives,” the DEC reported.
