NEW ATOMIC SITE REVEALED - See also Frontier Chem. Waste, Pendleton, NY

Frontier Chem. Waste Cleanup in Falls Marred by Atomic Past

Wednesday morning's news from Niagara Gazette, Niagara Falls, NY - mentions IICPH
February 08, 2006

http://www.niagara-gazette.com/local/local_story_038221033.html?keyword=topstory

Chemical site cleanup plan released

By Aaron Besecker
Niagara Gazette

State environmental officials released details of a multi-million dollar proposed cleanup in the city’s industrial section Tuesday night, while a local environmental researcher pointed to evidence of the site’s role in handling nuclear materials.

The capital costs to clean up the former site of Frontier Chemical Waste Process Corp. on 47th Street and Royal Avenue could reach more than $11 million, said Jeffrey Konsella, project manager for the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Annual operations and maintenance costs could range from $50,000 to $169,000, he added.

The DEC’s proposed plan would reduce the amount of discharge of contaminated water to the Niagara River, though how much contamination already released in the river is unknown, Konsella said.

“It’s been almost impossible to quantify,” he said.

Soil and groundwater contamination exist at the site where about 25,000 tons of chemical wastes were processed during its years of operation from 1974 to 1992.

The site poses minimal health effects because most of the contamination is underground and not generally accessible, said Public Health Specialist Matthew Forcucci of the state Department of Health.

About 80 percent of the site is covered in concrete, creating a boundary between above-ground activity and the contamination below the surface, Forcucci said.

Tuesday night’s highly technical presentation failed to address concerns raised by Louis Ricciuti, a local researcher and board member of the Canadian-based non-governmental organization, the International Institute of Concern for Public Health, who questioned officials about activity on the Frontier Chemical site prior to its handling of hazardous waste treatment.

Ricciuti provided documents from the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy and other federal agencies linking the Frontier Chemical site to a company called Harshaw Chemical.

Harshaw, which had operations in Ohio that were involved in the Manhattan Project, also previously operated on the site prior to Frontier Chemical, Ricciuti said.

State officials said they were unaware of the site’s probable nuclear involvement.

The site contaminants include volatile organic chemicals and other organic contaminants, a category of chemical categorized by the ease in which it evaporates into the air or dissolves into groundwater, Forcucci said.

The meeting held in the Earl W. Brydges branch of Niagara Falls Library was mandated by law and meant to provide public release of proposed cleanup information.

-----------------------------

Please also see: Starpoint thread, Frontier Chem. Waste Process Inc., Pendleton, New York, waste site that has been referenced in the past.