Environmental cleanup work to address underground contamination at the City of Corning Fire Department is underway.
During cleanup, which started Monday, June 15, the upper foot of soil that exceeds the commercial soil cleanup objectives or contains ash, brick, and/or glass will be removed and replaced. The cleanup, which is expected to take about three months to complete, is being handled by T&R Environmental of Bath.
The work is not expected to impact public safety operations for the fire department.
“While there is a lot of activity on the fire department site, we expect to remain fully operational from our facility throughout the remainder of the work,” said Brad Davies, Fire Chief at the Corning Fire Department.
The property located at 2 Corning Boulevard is listed as a Class “2” site in the State Registry of Inactive Hazardous Waste Sites, representing a significant threat to public health or the environment, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
The primary contaminants of concern at the site are inorganics such as arsenic, barium, boron, cadmium, chromium, lead and mercury, and semi-volatile organic compounds which are present site-wide in soil, according to DEC.
The site covers approximately 8.68 acres. It is bounded by Corning Boulevard and Guthrie Medical Center property to the north, flood control land and the Chemung River to the south, residential and Memorial Stadium to the east, and Center Way and the Corning Family YMCA to the west.
A City of Corning Municipal Water Supply Well is located in the southeast portion of the site. The well is being analyzed for contaminants of concern as part of the Glass Manufacturing Waste Disposal Area.
The project’s estimated price tag to implement the cleanup is approximately $634,000.
Cleanup also upcoming at Williams Street Park site
Groundwater & Environmental Services, Inc. will handle cleanup work at the Williams Street Park site, starting later this summer, which covers a total of 28 acres.
This project will also last about three months. Cleanup costs are estimated at $4.54 million.
DEC analyzed aerial photographs from 1938 through 1968 and identified areas of extensive disturbance along the length of William Street Park that are consistent with landfilling activities.
The primary contaminants of concern at the park are inorganics like arsenic, barium, boron, cadmium, chromium, lead and mercury, along with semi-volatile organic compounds that are present site-wide in soil.
The upper two feet of soils that exceed the Restricted-Residential soil cleanup objectives or contain ash, brick, and/or glass will be removed and replaced.
Alex Hamilton, city parks director, said the park will remain open but portions of the park will experience some interruptions as DEC remediates sections of the property.
The site will continue to operate as a park when cleanup is complete.
This article originally appeared on The Leader: Environmental cleanup of Corning City Fire Department site is underway
Reporting by Jeff Smith, Corning Leader / The Leader
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jeff Smith, Corning Leader | USA TODAY Network
