Cedarhurst site cleanup price tagged at $474,000

Cleanup of the contaminated Quick and Clean Cleaners site at 380 Rockaway Turnpike in Cedarhurst is expected sooner than later if the remedial plans unveiled by New York State Department of Environmental officials at a Cedarhurst village zoning board meeting on Aug. 5 are approved.

The remedy proposed for the site includes treating contaminated groundwater through injection of chemical oxidants into the groundwater; maintaining a site cover system; soil vapor intrusion mitigation by continued operation and maintenance of the on-site, sub-slab and depressurization system. DEC officials said the anticipated cost is $474,000.

Bob Corcoran, a DEC remedial section chief, explained how the contaminated site gained the state’s attention. “We classified it as a ‘P Site’ which is a potential site, and we went out and did our own investigation and found some groundwater contamination,” he said. “The soil looks like it was exacerbated at the time, and in 2011 the site was classified as ‘Class 2 inactive,’ inhabited space, which means we have upgraded it to a significant threat.”

Public Health Specialist for New York State Department of Health’s Bureau of Environmental Exposure Investigation Jacquelyn Nealon explained that the hazardous material used at the business could harm the groundwater.

“With the site, historically this was a dry cleaner and they used different chemicals, Tetrachloroethylene or PCE often times with doing that work there will be spillage, dumping and that is how ground water can be contaminated,” she said. “When we talk about exposure we are talking about physical contact, touching it with your hands, walk on it, or go through it. It can be consumed, you are drinking it or eating it because it could be beyond food, or you are breathing it. If people are not being exposed to it there will not be any harm.”

However, Nealon placed some distance between the contaminated groundwater and the water supply used by residents. “When we are talking about the water that people drink, that is coming from the public water supply which is tested before it is distributed,” she said.

“So that water even though groundwater underneath it is contaminated you are not drinking that water, that contamination is not associated with that.”

Bill Fonda a DEC spokesman, said the proposed remedy will help the public as well as contain the groundwater issue. “Right now, the site is listed as a class 2 which for the public safety needs to be addressed, the goal is to get the site to class 4 and at that point, there would no longer be an issue,” he said. The remedy will benefit the public because we want to limit as much exposure as possible and eliminate the contaminated groundwater.”

Clean up of the Cedarhurst site could take multiple rounds of the proposed remedy and might be completed by the end of 2022. “After the remedy, it would depend on how many rounds you need, then we would need to re-class,” Corcoran said. “I am hedging my bets by saying the end of next year.”

Have an opinion on the proposed cleanup of 380 Rockaway Turnpike? Send letter to jbessen@liherald.com.