EPA Finalizes Plan to Address Contamination in Buildings at the Meeker Avenue Plume Superfund Site in Brooklyn
Brooklyn, N.Y. - 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, Community Involvement Coordinator, at 212-637-3586 or Drabek.Anna@epa.gov.
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