Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Edmos Corporation in Glen Cove, New York
On this page:
- Cleanup Status
- Site Description
- Contaminants at this Facility
- Site Responsibility
Cleanup Status
A groundwater remediation system began operating at the adjacent Mattiace property in September 1999, and continues to operate. This groundwater remediation system consists of nine extraction points and a treatment scheme which includes clarification/flocculation to prevent fouling of subsequent treatment equipment, air stripping, and discharge to the Glen Cove Publicly Owned Treatment Works. The extraction points are designed to extract groundwater from the most contaminated areas of the plume on the Mattiace property, and also to manage its migration.
Recent data indicates that concentrations of contaminants at the monitoring wells on the Edmos property have decreased noticeably since startup of Mattiace's groundwater remediation system. For example, in November 2004, concentrations of methylene chloride were below 250 ug/l in well point MW-5S (vs. 170,000 ug/l in 1991) and 1300 ug/l in well point MW-5D (vs. 600,000 ug/l in 1991). Although the above-mentioned wells remain contaminated at orders of magnitude higher than the remediation goals of 5 ug/l for most volatile compounds, the groundwater monitoring data indicates that the downgradient migration of this contamination is under control.
Site Description
Edmos Corporation is located on Garvies Point Road, in Glen Cove, Nassau County, New York. Adjacent to the east of Edmos is the Mattiace Petrochemical Superfund Site, and to the north of Edmos is the Garvies Point (nature) Preserve. Beyond the Preserve, approximately ¼ mile from Edmos, are semi-attached housing units as well as the Landing Elementary School. To the south of Edmos (on the other side of Garvies Point Road) is Glen Cover Creek, which empties into Hempstead Harbor, a few hundred feet west of the former Edmos facility. The downtown area of Glen Cove is approximately four-tenths of a mile west of the facility.
The Edmos facility occupied part of a 1-story brick building and parking lot area, approximately one acre in size. Edmos manufactured textiles and stored and treated hazardous wastes. The facility closed in the mid-1980s. The Edmos property currently is occupied by several small industrial tenants, including Circle Lubricants.
On October 24, 1990, a 12 foot concrete retaining wall at the adjacent Mattiace Petrochemical facility collapsed, allowing contaminated soils to spill onto a paved parking lot at the Edmos property. Any soil spillage from Mattiace onto the Edmos parking lot subsequently was removed.
Contaminants at this Facility
The source of groundwater contamination at this facility is the adjacent Mattiace Petrochemical Superfund Site. However, this does not affect the current water supply. All nearby residents are on public water supplies. There are upgradient municipal wells approximately one mile away.
Additionally, geologic information indicates that the drinking water aquifer is protected from the contaminated aquifer. This is because there are two discrete aquifers in the Glen Cove region - the Upper Glacial Aquifer (contaminated) and Lloyd Aquifer (potable water). According to the Five-Year Review Report for Mattiace Superfund Site (September 2005), the clay portions of the Raritan Formation and the Port Washington unit form an effective confining unit which separates the Lloyd Aquifer (potable water supply) from the Upper Glacial Aquifer. As Glen Cove's municipal water supply system taps the deeper Lloyd aquifer in excess of 250 feet below mean sea level, the geologic information indicates that it is protected from the contamination in the Upper Glacial aquifer.
Soils
Soil contamination is not currently an issue at this facility. As noted above, any contaminated soils which spilled onto the Edmos parking lot after the retaining wall broke, were subsequently removed.
Indoor Air
Two separate sampling events were conducted by EPA and evaluated by New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), regarding potential contamination from the adjacent Mattiace facility. NYSDOH concluded that indoor air sampling would not be required at that time, due to the very low concentrations of volatile organic compounds in the soil gas. However, due to renewed interest in soil gas as a potential pathway at contaminated sites, additional sub slab testing is proposed for the end of calendar year 2007, to confirm whether or not soil gas from Mattiace could potentially impact nearby indoor environments, including the building formerly occupied by Edmos.
Site Responsibility at this Facility
The Edmos facility was regulated by EPA under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste regulations for interim status treatment and storage facilities.
The Edmos facility achieved interim status from EPA as a hazardous waste treatment and storage facility in 1981. The facility closed in the mid-1980s.