EPA Orders Removal of PCB-Contaminated Materials from Massena, N.Y. Site and Decontamination of Buildings Before Demolition (NY)
(New York, N.Y.) The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) today ordered Motors Liquidation Company
(MLC), formerly the General Motors Corporation (GM), to remove
materials and soil contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs) from portions of the General Motors Central Foundry Division
Superfund site in Massena, N.Y. MLC intends to demolish several
buildings at the site, a former General Motors plant, that are
contaminated with PCBs, which pose significant threats to human
health and the environment.
"EPA's oversight of the demolition of the GM
facility, including the proper handling of PCBs, is critical in
ensuring the safety of nearby residents and workers," said EPA
Regional Administrator Judith Enck. "The demolition will lead to a
full cleanup at the site and will make the property available for
redevelopment and productive reuse."
Under the order, MLC will be responsible for
additional sampling, decontamination of the building and its
contents, demolition of the building, removal of PCB-contaminated
soil beneath the building and restoration of the area. EPA’s
oversight of the work will ensure that any PCB-contaminated
material and soil handled as part of demolition and excavation
operations at the site comply with all federal and state laws and
regulations.
PCBs have been found in the plant’s
equipment, the piping and concrete flooring, and in tunnels and
soil located underneath the buildings. These PCBs could pose a
threat of further release in the event of improper demolition and
excavation activities.
PCBs were banned by Congress in 1976 and have
been demonstrated to cause a variety of adverse health effects.
They cause cancer in animals, and EPA has classified PCBs as a
probable human carcinogen. PCBs can also affect the immune,
reproductive, nervous and endocrine systems and cause other health
effects.
The 270-acre General Motors Central Foundry
Division site is bordered by the St. Lawrence River to the north,
the St. Regis Mohawk Nation to the east, the Raquette River to the
south, and property owned by Alcoa and Conrail to the west. There
are approximately 4,000 members of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe
living in the adjacent territory referred to as Akwesasne. The City
of Cornwall, Ontario, with approximately 50,000 residents, is
located about two miles north across the river, and the Village of
Massena, with a population of 11,000, is located approximately
seven miles to the east.
The GM facility operated as an aluminum
diecasting plant from 1959 to May 2009. Until 1980, PCBs were a
component of hydraulic fluids used in diecasting machines at the
facility. During GM’s operations, PCB-laden sludge from one
of the industrial lagoons and from the wastewater treatment plant
was periodically dumped in two on-site disposal areas and an
on-site landfill.
EPA added the General Motors Central Foundry
Division site to the Superfund National Priorities List on Sept. 1,
1984. GM had been cleaning contaminated areas of the site under two
EPA cleanup plans, but since the buildings at the facility were
being used for manufacturing until early 2009, the buildings
themselves had not been included in those cleanups. During an
inspection of the facility in kilogram. The cleanup level set for
soil at the site is 10 milligrams per kilogram.
Additionally, GM or MLC donated and auctioned
off manufacturing equipment and office furniture from the site,
some of which has been recently shown to contain PCBs. MLC has
offered to collect this equipment or furniture at no cost to the
buyer or recipient. A hotline has been set up for buyers or
recipients of equipment or furniture. EPA encourages those who have
received such items to contact the hotline to arrange for its
return. Anyone with questions about these items or a desire to
return them can call MLC at 1-800-414-9607.
For a Google Earth aerial view of the
General Motors Central Foundry Division
Superfund site, go to http://www.epa.gov/region2/kml/general_motors.kml. (You must have Google Earth installed on your
computer to view the map. To download Google Earth, visit
http://www.earth.google.com/download-earth.html).
For more information on EPA’s Superfund program, visit http://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/.
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