By VICTORIA A.CARUSO
Engineers started probing the Merrick Library property recently in preparation for a possible expansion project at the site. What they found was gasoline in the groundwater.
Engineers from Nelson, Pope and Vorhees discovered a gas plume, the remnant of a 1997 leak at the nearby Exxon station at Merrick Avenue and Sunrise Highway.
They also revealed that, unbeknownst to library officials, Exxon had installed monitoring wells near the library to track the gas plume.
At press time, library officials released this prepared statement: "Exxon has removed containment soil believed to be the source of the plume, and testing of groundwater south of the station is under way in order to define the extent of the plume."
Melville-based Groundwater and Environmental Services, which Exxon hired, will test the soil in a quarter-mile area south of the plume. Brian Austin, an environmental engineer with the state Department of Environmental Conservation, said, "Areas are tested in accordance with the direction the groundwater is moving. In this case, the downgrading direction is south, so testing is being done on a 1,000-foot area south of the gas station to the Cure of Ars Church and east of Merrick Avenue to Narwood Court."
Austin also said that, since groundwater is located eight feet below surface level, tests are conducted seven feet down determine if gasoline has moved from the groundwater into the soil.
He noted that local residents should not worry about contamination in their drinking water. "We're not worried about drinking water in this case because most water companies draw from wells at least 100 feet below the surface."
Also, the library's engineers tested the air in the library's lower level and its air-conditioning unit, seeking gasoline contaminants. They found neither BETX or MTBE, the two chemicals that might indicate a gas spill.
Austin said that cleanup of any groundwater contamination will involve pumping out affected water and treating it, or treating it in place. The area will also be monitored periodically over the next several years.
If gasoline has made its way into the soil, it will be found in the form of vapor, which might have seeped into basements that are built five feet below surface.
Anna Flesch, whose home is at Narwood Court and Narwood Avenue, said she is not worried, however. "There is no odor in our basement," said Flesch. "We feel confident the spillage was not that bad." She did say, though, that she was happy to see tests are being conducted to determine the extent of the gas plume.
Merrick Library trustees and administrators met with Ray Cowen, the DEC's regional director, on Dec. 21. "Although Mr. Cowen promised he would give high priority to this problem, he could not give a firm date when the containment and remedial process would begin," a library release stated. "The Department of Environmental Conservation will be keeping the library fully informed as the remedial process unfolds."
Austin added that gas plumes around filling stations are fairly common. "Every gas station does not have this problem, but this case is not dissimilar," he said. "There are a large number of stations on Long Island that have had similar problems."
