1.1.1 Incident Category

Emergency removal action at an abandoned former tuberculosis cure hospital and medical infirmary.

1.1.2 Site Description

The Site is a former Saratoga County hospital that operated as a cure cottage for patients who contracted tuberculosis.  It was built in the late 19th Century, expanded in the early part of the 20th Century, and the present day structure consists of a two story steel frame brick-and-stone main building with a full basement, the remnants of a former boiler plant and electrical generation building, and a former waste water treatment plant (WWTP).  The WWTP is the subject of this removal action, RV1.  Concurrent with this RV1 removal action, an asbestos assessment has been made by  EPA in the main building and outside former power plant.  Results of that assessment can be found at the Old Saratoga Hospital RV2 site on this web site.

The facility ceased functioning as a TB cure facility and closed around 1960.  It was reopened by the county in 1962 as an infirmary but was closed again in the late 1960s.  It was purchased in 1982 by Conifer Construction Group, Inc., a building company.  An attempt was made to rehab the building and put it back in use as a senior citizen residence, but it proved to be unsuccessful and the facility was abandoned shortly thereafter.  Vandals, trespassers, curiosity seekers, and squatters have been entering the main building for decades.

1.1.2.1 Location

It is situated in a rural residential area approximately 10 miles west of Saratoga Springs, NY

1.1.2.2 Description of Threat

The building contains hundreds of linear feet of asbestos pipe insulation, much of which has fallen onto the floors.  In one room in the main building are 30 - 40 5-gallon pails of roofing tar and old paint.  In another room there are approximately 50 yellow asbestos bags filled with friable asbestos.  Sampling of the suspected asbestos-containing insulation will take place during RV1 removal activities under Assessment funding, and may be the subject of a second removal action at this Site at a later time.

Inside the WWTP there were 32 full drums of waste water treatment chemicals, some of which were tipped over and some were bulging; two were partially submerged in one of the water treatment tanks..  In addition there were 5 30-gallon drums of a 12% peroxide solution.  The WWTP was fully accessible to trespassers and is located within 50 feet of a stream that empties into Sacandaga Lake, approximately 1 mile away. 

This RV1 removal action was initiated only to address the drums of waste chemicals inside the WWTP and approximately 100 containers of old paint and roofing tar in 1-gallon pails and 5-gallon drums inside the main building.

1.1.3 Preliminary Removal Assessment/Removal Site Inspection Results

See above.

2.1.1 Narrative

2.1.2 Response Actions to Date

UPDATED INFORMATION IS IN BOLD FONT.

OSCs toured the facility and determined that a threat of a release of hazardous substances and friable asbestos existed. 

Verbal authorization to conduct a time-critical removal action for the drummed chemicals abandoned at the Site has been given by the Deputy Director of the Emergency Response & Remedial Division.  Funding in the amount of $147,000 has also been obtained for this removal action.  A draft Action Memo has been written, an ERRS contractor has been selected, and a Task Order to mobilize the contractor to the Site is pending. 

The Action Memo and confirmation of verbal authorization and funding signed by Director of ERRD on July 24, 2015.  ERRS was activated and mobilized to the Site on 8/3/2015.  While investigating a means to extract the drums from the WWTP ERRS discovered 4 additional drums of unknown chemicals and two full drums submerged in the WW settling tank.  ERRS cleared a path through the underbrush over which the drums will be relocated into the CONEX boxes.

ERRS retrieved 32 drums of haz waste from the WWTP, sampled same, and staged drums inside CONEX container.  Thirty of the drums had contents that tested corrosive; some with pH as low as 1 and as high as 13.  One drum tested positive for flammability.  The contents of one other drum remains unknown and will be included in the samples sent to a lab for analysis.  The Haz-mat ID instrument was used to categorize the waste streams.  

ERRS staged 1 full, two partial, and 4 empty 15-gallon drums of bleach solution in the CONEX box.  The bleach drums are marked "Surpass Chemical, Surchlor", a 12.5% bleach solution with a pH of 13.  OSC contacted Surpass Chemical at their Albany facility they agreed to accept the drums and empties as returned goods.  ERRS transported the drums and transferred them to Surpass where the material will be used in their on-site WWTP.  ERRS also lab-packed approx. 100 pails of paint and roofing tar from the main building and staged them in the CONEX box pending T & D.

OSC met with town supervisor and briefed him on the status of the removal action.  A member of the Providence Vol. fire company visited the site for a briefing on the removal action and contents of the CONEX boxes. 

ERRS demobed crew and rented equipment at COB on 8/7/2015.  Prior to leaving ERRS marked the CONEX boxes with flammable/corrosive placards and double-locked the front gate. 

RST located a public library in Galway Township and the Admin Record will repose in that library.  The public announcement will be published in the Saratogian newspaper in Saratoga Springs.

The laboratory report for the 4 composited liquid samples (combined from 32 drums) has been received.  Lab results show the composite samples have either very high acidity (pH <2) or low acidity (pH 12.9).  Samples also showed the presence of some metals in parts-per-billion concentrations, some had chlorinated components such as carbon tetrachloride (possible waste degreasing solvent) and some had flash points as low as 60 degrees F.  One sample tested positive for reactive sulfides.  A review of the results revealed nothing striking or out of the ordinary, and the sample results indicate that the waste chemicals will lend themselves to traditional disposal techniques such as incineration/fuels blending and chemical neutralization.  Copies of the field test report sheets and the formal laboratory report can be found in the Documents section on this web site.

The Administrative Record for this removal action has been established at the Galway Township Public Library.  The public notice for this removal action will be published in the Saratogian, a newspaper of wide circulation in Saratoga County, the week of August 25, 2015.  A digital copy of the Admin Record can be found in the Documents section of this web site.

Profile sheets with the chemical and physical properties of the contents of 32 drums and 100 pails of hazardous waste have been compiled by the EPA response contractor.  A Request for Quotation has been issued to vendors for competitive bidding for the transportation and final disposal of these chemical wastes.  Bids are due back to the contractor NLT 8/31, a subcontract will be awarded and the shipping of the chemical wastes off Site for disposal. 

On 9/18/2015 ERRS loaded-out 5 cubic yard boxes of pails of paint and roofing tar, and 32 55-gallon drums of acids and corrosives.   The waste chemicals were transported to Clean Harbors in Syracuse, NY for processing.  All removal activities specified in the Action Memo and the Scope-of-Work for Task Order #0010 have been completed.

2.1.3 Enforcement Activities, Identity of Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs)

There is at least one known PRP, one of the former partners of Conifer Construction Group, Inc.  He has given EPA written access to the entire site.  There is one other suspected individual who was associated with Conifer Construction Group, but that person's identity is presently unknown. 

2.1.4 Progress Metrics

2.2.1 Anticipated Activities

None.

2.2.1.1 Planned Response Activities

None 

2.2.1.2 Next Steps

2.2.2 Issues