(AGENPARL) – mer 02 ottobre 2024 Issued: Oct 2, 2024 (11:41am EDT)
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EPA Finalizes Plan to Address Contamination in Buildings at the Meeker Avenue
Plume Superfund Site in Brooklyn
Brooklyn, N.Y. (Oct. 2, 2024) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has
finalized its plan to protect people living and working in residential and
commercial buildings at the Meeker Avenue Plume Superfund Site in the
Greenpoint and East Williamsburg areas of Brooklyn, N.Y. Following an
extensive public comment period, EPA is finalizing this plan to mitigate the
risk of harmful vapors seeping into buildings from groundwater and soil that
are contaminated with chlorinated volatile organic compounds, or CVOCs.
“Under this cleanup plan, EPA will take decisive action to reduce vapors
that can seep into buildings where people can breathe them in,” said
Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. “We strongly encourage homeowners and
renters in the area to reach out to us to remain informed about this ongoing
cleanup.”
The finalized cleanup plan is an interim action that will reduce risks to
those living, working, or otherwise using residential and non-residential
properties in the study area where testing shows harmful vapors from the site
are present at levels of concern. EPA is developing a separate plan to address
the sources of the groundwater contamination.
Under this finalized plan, the EPA will install systems underneath building
foundations, called sub-slab depressurization systems. EPA will also seal
cracks and gaps in the lowest level of structures to stop vapors from getting
inside. Sub-slab depressurization involves connecting an electric fan to a
small pit dug into a building’s slab to vent vapors outdoors above a
building’s roofline. The plan includes estimated costs for mitigating up to
100 structures within the Meeker Avenue site study area and anticipates
ongoing work for at least five years to complete the necessary vapor intrusion
sampling.
It is currently estimated that the Meeker Avenue Plume Superfund Site spans
over 190 acres across several city blocks in the Greenpoint/East Williamsburg
area. The soil, soil gas, and groundwater at the site are contaminated with
CVOCs, including toxic tetrachloroethylene, or PCE, and trichloroethylene, or
TCE, which are classified by the EPA as likely to cause cancer. This part of
Brooklyn has a history of petroleum refining and storage operations along the
banks of Newtown Creek. The site was discovered when chemical contamination
was found in soil and groundwater outside the historic petroleum spill area.
EPA has sampled about three dozen properties to assess whether vapors were
getting indoors from underneath the buildings. To date, the EPA has installed
one sub-slab depressurization system. Before asking the EPA to take the lead,
the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation detected CVOC
vapors inside several dozen properties, leading the state to install vapor
management systems. This finalized plan allows the EPA to continue installing
these systems as needed. The EPA is working closely with property owners and
area residents to ensure that work is done with minimal disruption.
EPA is also continuing to investigate the entire site to determine the full
nature and extent of contamination. This includes ongoing sampling of
groundwater.
Visit the Meeker Avenue Plume Superfund site for more information and to view
the finalized cleanup plan, known as a Record of Decision.
If the community has any questions, they can reach out to Anna Drabek,
Follow EPA Region 2 on X and visit our Facebook page. For more information
about EPA Region 2, visit our website.
24-082
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