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EPA to Clean Up Mineola Superfund Site

Release Date: 10/25/2004
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(#04161) NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Contaminated soil and ground water at an inactive manufacturing facility known as the Jackson Steel Superfund site in Mineola, New York will be cleaned up, according to a plan released today by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). "We are eager to begin the next phase of the cleanup at Jackson Steel so that this site can be returned to productive use," said EPA Regional Administrator Jane M. Kenny. "Contaminated properties like Jackson Steel detract from the vitality of surrounding neighborhoods, but this plan again makes this property viable." The Agency will install systems to remove volatile organic compounds from subsurface soils and will chemically treat contaminated shallow ground water. In addition, EPA will excavate and dispose of contaminated surface soils and materials in dry wells and sumps inside and outside the Jackson Steel building, and the building floor will be decontaminated. EPA will also investigate to determine if the site is the source of contamination in deeper ground water and, if necessary, the ground water will be extracted and treated. Jackson Steel was a metal forming facility that operated from 1970 through 1991. As part of its operation, the company used tetrachloroethylene and 1,1,1-trichloroethane as degreasers. The practice of disposing of wastes into on-site dry wells, as well as probable spills and leaks that occurred during the facility's operations, are the likely sources of the contamination in the soil and ground water. EPA listed Jackson Steel on the National Priorities List of the nation's most hazardous waste sites in February 2000. As a result of the detection of tetrachloroethylene in air samples collected from an adjacent daycare center and a billiards club and the concern that the Jackson Steel site could be the source of this contamination, in 2002 the Agency installed systems to remove soil vapors from underneath these buildings. EPA also installed ventilation systems to provide fresh air circulation in the nearby buildings.