By ARIELLA MONTI
They listened as a panel of experts explained the cleanup process already under way, and took questions from the audience. The first part of the two-phase Interim Remedial Measure Work Plan (IRM), which began last week, will run for four to six weeks.
The Banks Avenue site, formerly owned by drug distribution company Darby Group Companies Inc., is now the property of AvalonBay Communities Inc. AvalonBay plans to build an apartment complex on the site, and entered the property in the state Department of Environmental Conservation Brownfield Cleanup program.
The panel of experts included representatives from the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the state Department of Health and the environmental consulting companies responsible for supervising the cleanup. P.W. Grosser Consulting is supervising the onsite cleanup, while Environmental Business Consultants is investigating any offsite pollution that extends beyond the property line.
Joseph Yavonditte of the DEC explained that the first phase of the cleanup is the extraction of the toxic dry-cleaning chemical tetrachloroethylene, also known as perc, from the site. There were various owners of the property before Darby Drugs, including a textile company that operated a dry-cleaning facility at the site. Exposure to high concentrations of perc can cause dizziness, headaches, sleepiness, confusion, nausea, difficulty in speaking and walking, unconsciousness and, in extreme cases, death.
Six extraction wells drilled through the floor of the southwest portion of the site's existing building are now removing the dense liquid chemical from the layer of clay in the ground below. When the process is completed, the building will be demolished.
During the second phase of the IRM, contaminated soil will be sectioned off, dug up, dried in special de-watering beds and trucked to a disposal site. The plan includes a variety of options to handle any unforeseen conditions that are uncovered.
A Community Air Monitoring Program monitors vapors and dust at the site, but Yavonditte acknowledged that there would be a smell associated with the second phase of the process. It will not be the sharp, sweet odor of perc familiar to anyone who has clothes dry-cleaned, Yavonditte stressed. "If you smell perc," he said, "we have a real big problem."
Cleanup of contaminated soil outside the site is being done under an order of consent with Darby Drug. Environmental Business Consultants will take multi-level ground samples from various areas around the property, 350 feet apart, to determine the extent of the chemical in the groundwater.
"All we know is the groundwater is contaminated at the property line," said Charles Sosik of Environmental Business Consultants. His company has mapped a path the perc plume may have taken over the past 30 years, and will work with that estimate to measure the degree of contamination. A report will then be sent to the DEC for further action.
After hearing from the experts, members of the public were invited to ask questions. Many of them focused on the de-watering process during Phase Two. Lawrence Quinn voiced his concern with the idea of a plastic tarp being the only thing covering the contaminated soil. Yavonditte explained that any tarps would be properly secured, and added that other chemical methods would be used to dry the soil for transportation to the disposal site.
The experts answered several questions from another resident, Joe Thrapp, about the technical aspects of the cleanup process, including storage of contaminated soil and dust and the extent of the plume that may have flowed underground toward Mill River. Thrapp - whose letter to the Herald, "Work at Darby site will be dangerous," was published in the May 22-28 issue - says he has conducted extensive research on the cleanup since it was announced several years ago.
Trustee Dave Krasula asked about the information that would be provided to the village by project monitors. Representatives of the DEC and the Department of Health will be making regular visits to inspect the site and the progress of the work. Kris Almskog, a senior project manager for P.W. Grosser Consulting, will file monthly reports to the DEC and send copies to the village, which will post them on its Web site.
Documents related to the cleanup can be found on the Web site, www.rvcny.us, and at the Rockville Centre Public Library. The IRM for the offsite cleanup is available for public comment until June 23. Mark Bufalini and Bill Fonda of the DEC can be reached for further information at (518) 402-9622 and (631) 444-0249, respectively, and Steve Karpinski oft the Department of Health is available at (800) 458-1158 ext. 27880.
Comments about this story? AMonti@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 282.
