In September, 2007, NYSDEC Region 5 rep. Mike McClean contacted the EPA Region 2 Regional Response Center and requested EPA assistance with an abandoned paint store in the City of Glens Falls, NY. The building had been acquired by the City through a tax foreclosure and the dangerous condition of the building was discovered by while the property was being evaluated for a Brownfields redevelopment Grant.
The building was located in the center of a residential area, adjacent to an elementary school and ball field. The materials inside the building were identified by DEC and Brownfields assessors as paint and solvents.
On September 20, 2007, OSC Eric Daly met with NYSDEC and City officials and performed a preliminary assessment of the building. OSC Daly observed that the roof structure was deteriorated and that approximately 1,000 rusted containers of paint and solvent were haphazardly stacked throughout the facility. EPA conducted air monitoring along the perimeter of the building, inside the premises, and along the school grounds.
The building consisted of the main level, a partial basement, and an attic. The entire structure was unstable. The roof was dramatically bowed and perforated and the main room ceiling was collapsing. Containers of solvents and leaking/rusted containers of paint and unknown substances were located on all 3 levels and haphazardly stacked.
EPA was officially requested to conduct a removal action by the Mayor of Glens Falls, the Glens Falls Fire Department, and the Principal of Sanford Street Elementary School. NYSDEC issued a verbal referral of the site to EPA on September 20, 2007, and, based on the verbal referral, on September 20, 2007, ERRD Director G. Pavlou gave a verbal authorization to proceed with a removal action. A formal written referral was received by EPA on September 21, 2007.
EPA mobilized its ERRS contractor on September 24, 2007. Initial efforts focused on stabilizing the structure and identifying/consolidating the containers. All hazardous substances were packaged into cubic-yard boxes, staged in Conex shipping containers in an adjacent parking lot, and shipped off-Site for disposal. On October 10, 2007 the removal action was completed.
The City demolished the empty structure in the fall of 2007, and hired a consultant to perform a Phase II soil analysis. On June 24, 2008, the City received a report which revealed the presence of elevated levels of mercury in the soil underneath the footprint of the building. Following the release of this report, EPA received a written request from the City for assistance in removing the contaminated soil, and a written referral of the Site to EPA from the NYSDEC for additional removal work was sent on 8/6/2008. Following receipt of that request, EPA conducted a removal assessment of the Site, including the acquisition of numerous soil and paint samples which were tested for hazardous constituents. Based on the analytical results and the close proximity of a public school, a decision was made to initiate a response action. This decision is documented in an Action Memo which was signed on 8/18/2009.
On 9/22 a public availability meeting was held at the Sanford Street school, with reps from the NYSDOH, NYSDEC, EPA, and ERRS attending. Also attending was the school principal and a rep from the City of Glens Falls, two parents, and a reporter for the Post-Star.
POLREP # 17 was issued for the commencement of on-Site activities.
ERRS began hand-removing lead paint from the remains of the concrete floor. It is difficult to remove because there are 3 layers of paint and progress is slow.
On 9/23 ERRS discovered that pieces of the concrete floor of the former Frasier building had been buried under the fill in the area that used to be the basement. The flooring was covered with the same lead-based paint that ERRS is removing from the intact section of flooring. This artifact of the demolition of the Frasier premises in 2007 raises operational and financial problems for this removal action. ERRS will now have to sift the entire site to locate and extract all the concrete sections and they will have to be stockpiled pending disposal arrangements. Depending on the the leachability of the lead, approximately 100 cu. yds. of contaminated concrete may have to be shipped to a RCRA-approved haz waste landfill for disposal. If this is the case then ERRS will cease hand-removing the lead paint and merely bulk the intact flooring with the broken sections. The NYSDEC was notified of this discovery and is reviewing the matter for possible follow-up.
ERRS acquired soil samples for TCLP analysis for lead and mercury for T & D purposes. The samples were delivered to a lab in Albany for 3 day verbal TAT for results.
During the search for pieces of broken flooring ERRS uncovered a 4" pipe perpendicular to the street. This pipe was not identified by Call First, but it is thought to be a lateral sewer line that connected the building to the City's sewer system. ERRS will ask the DPW to visit the Site to confirm the nature of this pipe.
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The excavator is unearthing numerous old bottles, some intact. This will dispel the belief that the footprint of the building had been totally backfilled following the demolition of the building in 2007, so placement of the radioactive fly ash must have occurred decades ago.
Links to TV and press news stories about the Site have been added to the Site web site at EPAOSC.net.
Continue extracting concrete floor sections from the soil and stage for disposal. Begin removing top layer of rad material for live load-outs.
See above.
See above.
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