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Chemical Exposure
Cleanup of former IBM facility progressing (#1866)
2010-08-25
Contamination cleanup efforts near the former IBM facility in Endicott, NY are progressing ahead of schedule, but there is still plenty of work to do, state and IBM officials said Wednesday.
The company and the state Department of Environmental Conservation gave presentations on the remediation process to about 20 people during a public meeting at Union-Endicott High School.
IBM has been held responsible for the cleanup of trichloroethylene (TCE) pollution surrounding its former facility on North Street.
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TCE is a cleaning solvent used heavily by industry decades ago, and the pollution stretches into a large part of the village.
The DEC has proposed a "no further action remedy" for a portion of the underground plume located at the former site of Ideal Dry Cleaners on North Street between Jackson and Arthur avenues. IBM has drilled heating wells that have boiled the chemicals from groundwater underneath the site, and soil tests in the area qualify for unrestricted use, DEC project manager William Wertz said.
IBM purchased the dry cleaning site in 1985 and is responsible for the cleanup.
"The work that has been done by IBM, from the state's perspective, fulfills their cleanup responsibilities" for the dry cleaning site, Wertz said.
While the soil and groundwater at the actual Ideal site are clean, some of the groundwater downhill will continue to have residual contamination for up to 10 years, Wertz said. Homes in that area, as well as others in the plume, have been outfitted with vapor intrusion pumps paid for by IBM, which filter TCE vapors out of basements and into the air.
IBM Program Manager Mitchell Meyers said the company has been using a relatively new technique of pumping clean freshwater into the water table to flush out contaminants. He said the technique has helped expedite the cleanup process, and will be used in other areas of the plume.
Still, the clean-up process, which originally began in 1980, is still years from completion, and some parts of the plume may never be completely cleaned, according to the DEC.
"We are committed to remain here until the (state) agencies say that we are finished," Meyers said. "We're in this until we're done."
About 900 people have signed onto a set of lawsuits against the company claiming harmful effects -- from health problems to property damage to lost business -- from the pollution. Those suits are still in their initial phases and will not head to court until next year at the earliest.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health also has launched a $3.1 million, multi-year study into whether or not working at the IBM plant increased the chances of becoming seriously ill.
Anna Hickling, who owns property in Endicott, expressed concern about the intrusiveness of some of the cleanup techniques. A well was drilled just outside of a home she owns on Grant Street, she said.
"How am I supposed to sell that home when there are giant trap doors as soon as you walk out?" she said.
Frank Roma, secretary of the Western Broome Environmental Stakeholders Coalition, said the company has done "a very good job" with the Ideal Dry Cleaners site and said he is satisfied with the work IBM and the DEC have done.
"It is working," Roma said. "But I think it could work even faster with other technologies they have at least preliminarily tested, but the cost and logistics may be holding them up, and they might be intrusive to some of the neighborhoods."
The DEC is seeking public comment on its proposed remedy for the dry cleaners site before it is finalized. Comments can be submitted to Wertz at wewertz@gw.dec.state.ny.us or 625 Broadway, Albany N.Y., 12233.
Contamination cleanup efforts near the former IBM facility in Endicott, NY are progressing ahead of schedule, but there is still plenty of work to do, state and IBM officials said Wednesday.
