(AGENPARL) - Roma, 2 Ottobre 2023 - (AGENPARL) – lun 02 ottobre 2023 Issued: Oct 2, 2023 (3:19pm EDT)
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EPA Finalizes Cleanup Plan for Lehigh Valley Railroad Derailment Superfund
Site in Genesee County, New York
NEW YORK (October 2, 2023) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
has finalized its cleanup plan to address contaminated groundwater, soil,
bedrock, soil vapor and surface water at the Lehigh Valley Railroad Derailment
site located in LeRoy, New York. EPA held a public meeting on August 29, 2023,
to explain the proposed plan to the community and take comments. The finalized
plan, released today, addresses the remaining contamination from the historic
train accident that spilled trichloroethylene (TCE) onto the ground and caused
the groundwater contamination.
“We handled the most immediate threats by working with the state to remove
contamination and connect people to a safe source of drinking water,” said
Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. “This final cleanup plan addresses
the last of the contaminated legacy of this derailment and turns the page to
the final chapter of our work at this site.”
The site includes the location of a former train derailment that occurred on
December 6, 1970, at the Gulf Road crossing in the Town of LeRoy. Two tank
cars ruptured and spilled approximately 30,000 gallons of TCE onto the ground.
A third car containing a crystalline form of cyanide was also reported to have
partially spilled. The cyanide was recovered shortly after the derailment,
however the TCE was flushed with water, and it seeped into the ground,
resulting in a 4-mile-long plume of TCE contamination. EPA placed the site on
the Superfund List in 1999 and has been addressing the site in several stages,
including an early removal response, as well as remedial actions known as
operable units (OUs), where EPA worked with the state on a waterline and
oversaw vapor mitigation work in affected homes and a soil cleanup in the
spill area.
The finalized cleanup plan, called a Record of Decision, will address the
groundwater, bedrock, soil, soil vapor, and surface water. For the groundwater
contamination, EPA has determined that no existing treatment methods can clean
up the groundwater to meet necessary standards. Therefore, EPA’s final
remedy includes monitoring the groundwater and limiting the use of the
groundwater to protect people’s health over the long-term.
The finalized cleanup plan also includes:
removing remaining contaminated soil and disposing of it off-site at a
permitted disposal facility, followed by backfilling with clean fill.
treating (in place) of contaminated surface water with streambed cover,
restrictions, and monitoring.
monitoring groundwater, surface water, soil vapor and indoor air to check the
levels of contaminants.
maintaining and installing vapor mitigation systems for properties that are
affected by soil vapor intrusion from the groundwater plume. These systems
prevent harmful vapors from entering indoor spaces.
connecting new homes built over the groundwater plume to the public water
supply system or providing point-of-entry treatment systems if connection to
the municipal system is not feasible. Existing homes over the plume were
connected to the public water system in 2003.
restricting the use of groundwater using controls such as easements in the
spill area and informing the public via notices of the contaminated
groundwater and soil vapor.
For additional background and to see the Record of Decision, visit the Lehigh
Valley Railroad Derailment Superfund site profile page.