United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) experts will be available on Monday, April 23 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Mineola Village Hall at 155 Washington Avenue to answer questions from the public, as the agency begins its investigation of the Jackson Steel Superfund site.

The site, which has been linked to contaminated local ground water on Long Island, was listed on the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) of the nation's most serious hazardous waste sites in February 2000.

Jackson Steel Products, Inc., a former "roll form metal shapes" manufacturer located on the border to Mineola and North Hempstead, abandoned the site in 1991 and left volatile organic chemicals behind in drywells on the property, according to the EPA. These chemicals contaminated the soil below the property and eventually reached the ground water, according to the EPA.

During its investigation, EPA will install wells both on the site and in the surrounding areas to monitor the ground water quality. EPA will also collect on-site soil samples to determine the extent of the soil contamination. EPA investigations and studies will pinpoint the extent of the problem and identify the best ways to protect public health and the environment from any potential threats. EPA will consider cleanup options and, with the community's input, choose a final remedy.

Information repositories that contain site-related documents available public review are located at the following locations: Mineola Memorial Library at 195 Marcellus Road, Garden City Public Library at 60 Seventh Street and the offices of the Town of North Hempstead at 200 Plandome Road in Manhasset. EPA also has information on the Jackson Steel site and other NPL sites on Long Island on its web site at: www.epa.gov/superfund.

In addition to the Jackson Steel site, there are 26 federal Superfund NPL sites on Long Island.