The former Techem Inc. site on Falmouth Avenue in New Hyde Park is currently clear of toxic metal waste that could threaten to the surrounding environment and could be redeveloped with the appropriate precautions, according to a report issued last month by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
The report on the state superfund project said that based on prior interim remedial measures taken to dispose of hazardous wastes at the site, the state DEC’s recommendation is that no further action is required.
The report explains that the “no further action” recommendation applies to the continued operation of any remedial system installed at the site along with “implementation of any prescribed institutional controls or engineering controls.”
The DEC report will be presented at a public meeting in the Hillside Public Library on March 23 at 7 p.m. A public comment period about the site has been set for the duration of this month.
“Although the superfund site on Falmouth Avenue is not in our district, we are closely following any decisions made by the DEC in this matter,” said Michael Levy, superintendent of the Garden City Park Water/Fire District.
“As a purveyor of water in the vicinity, we are always interested in any developments of this nature. However, we would like it to be known that our district often surpasses the monitoring requirements imposed by local and federal regulatory agencies and will continue to do so,”
Levy said representatives of the Garden City Park Water/Fire District would be in attendance at the March 23 meeting.
Groundwater samples taken on the site last month revealed the presence of cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, lead, manganese, nickel, selenium and sodium at concentrations that exceeded state DEC standards to a minor degree, according to the report.
The municipal water source in the area is a deeper aquifer and metals and metals from the site “will not migrate sufficiently to impact the municipal supply or any surface body of water,” the report said.
A site cover is now on the site and commercial redevelopment would require a soil cover of one foot to meet regulatory standards.
Any future redevelopment would require a site management plan, including an excavation plan for any excavations to be made in areas of remaining contamination.
The Techem site, located on Falmouth Avenue west of Denton Avenue, had been used for a variety of commercial and industrial uses after a one-story structure masonry block building was erected on the site in 1955.
“The site had a history of spills and poor housekeeping that caused the release of solutions containing heavy metals,” according to the report, which prompted intervention by local, state and federal regulatory agencies.
In 1982, the Nassau County Department of Health discovered elevated concentrations of cadmium, chromium and lead when it sampled water from a “drywell” on the site. That cesspool was cleaned up two years later.
The U.S. Environment Protection Agency removed 1,500 small containers and 1,250 drums of “hazardous chemicals” from the building and storage areas.
The EPA also excavated soil from a sump on the property and other areas containing metals in the soil, backfilling the excavations afterward and resurfacing them with concrete.
