By Hector Flores
Hess officials, who admit that a spill occurred at the station in 1988, which they are still cleaning up, deny that there was any other gasoline leak.
State officials, however, say they discovered a recent spill from Hess, and it is now flowing underground south of Merrick Road, including below Bellmore's oldest home. The two-story house, which dates back to 1689, sits next to the Hess station and is owned by Mary-Ann Farrell.
Farrell, a local businesswoman and Bellmore Chamber of Commerce member, said Hess officials recently wanted to enter her property, but didn't say why. "We were contacted by Hess, and they asked us for access to our property, and no one has said why they need access, unless there is a new spill," she said.
"I first became aware of the leak last month," Farrell said, "but I don't know the severity of it or what is being done in the meantime. They have taken air samples and water samples and told me that the air samples are fine; however, I have yet to get any information on the water samples."
Bruce Palazzola, 49, who lives two houses south of the Hess station, said, "We have not received one word from the gas station or the town, only from the people that were here drilling. These people dug up the front of my house, but no one has yet told us what they have found."
Hess recently hired EnviroTrac to collect water and soil samples at the gas station and in the surrounding neighborhood.
State officials say they uncovered a recent spill late last year when monitoring wells, used to track the site's 1988 leak, found an increase of BTEX and MTBE, two chemicals in gasoline that can pose a great threat to the environment and public health.
Bill Fonda, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation spokesman, said, "Hess is trying to reach out to the community. Due to the area's shallow groundwater table, people's basements are only slightly higher than the groundwater. Hess is currently conducting an investigation to see the effect of these vapors to the neighboring homes."
According to the DEC, gasoline is a mix of many volatile and semi-volatile organic chemicals and additives. They include benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX), and additives such as methyl-teritiary-butyl-ether (MTBE), which are known or suspected to cause cancer. When gasoline is released into the environment, BTEX and MTBE pose the greatest threats.
When a gas leak does occur, the party responsible for the spill must pay for and conduct an investigation of the leak and then clean it up.
Fonda said Hess is still cleaning up the 1988 spill by pumping out groundwater, treating it and returning it to the earth, as well as vacuuming out gasoline vapors from the ground, treating them and releasing them.
Fonda said Hess' old pump-and-treat system, used to clean up the 1988 spill, was simply inadequate. "The pump-and-treat system has been shut down because it was an old system," said Fonda. "It will be replaced with a new system by the end of July. We expect that the new system will be able to meet and deal with the new levels of discharge."
Hess officials say a new pump-and-treat system will be in place by month's end. They, however, don't believe that the recent spike in BTEX and MTBE resulted from a new leak.
Carl Tursi, a Hess spokesman, said, "We are receiving new remediation equipment and will continue in our recovery efforts. In 1988, when the leak occurred, Hess replaced the gasoline tanks, and recent inspections of the tanks show no faults. "
Tursi said the spike in chemical readings could have resulted from groundwater fluctuations, and he thinks the new equipment will improve cleanup of the 1988 spill and help determine the cause of the recent spike in MTBE and BTEX readings.
Tursi said, "Thus far, there have been no findings that confirm a new spill, but once the updated system is installed, we will continue to monitor the readings. We are working with the state in the remediation [cleanup] and have been in contact with the neighbors who have been affected. These people are our customers, and we intend to do the right thing."
Nassau County Legislator David Denenberg (R-Merrick), however, insists that the spike in chemical readings can only mean a new leak.
Denenberg, who is an attorney and environmental engineer and is following the case closely, said, "Spikes in these wells show significant spikes in gasoline readings since the DEC began keeping track of them in 1991. The data shows significant spikes in readings throughout the '90s: 1992, '95, '96, '97. The latest 2002 spike is just too drastic, considering that area is currently going through remediation."
The legislator also said, "A spike 10 years after the wells have been in place can only mean a new spill. If their only explanation for these readings is a fluctuation in groundwater, then their remediation system never worked."
