At a community forum, which was held last week at the Plainview Public Library and co-sponsored by the Concerned Citizens of Plainview Old Bethpage Inc. and the Plainview Water District, officials for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), the Nassau County Department of Health (NCDOH) and the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) spoke to those in attendance regarding the recent news of vapor intrusion.

As stated in a previous article, before 2003, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) cleaned up contaminated sites under certain set guidelines and to meet certain standards that they had at the time.

In late 2002, early 2003, research regarding vapor intrusion, which is the process by which volatile chemicals move from a subsurface source into the indoor air of overlying or adjacent buildings, began to yield more information.

After learning about the new threats of vapor intrusion, DEC staff went through records of sites that the DEC was involved with, either in an oversight or a managing capacity. The sites that were cleaned up prior to 2003 and where remedial decisions had already been made, which include over 400 in New York State and approximately 80 on Long Island, are now going to be prioritized and then addressed and evaluated for the potential of vapor intrusion.

Guy Bobersky from the NYSDEC explained that, simply put, soil vapor intrusion is the movement of soil vapors into buildings. "Our strategy with this is that all contaminated sites will be evaluated to determine whether the soil vapor intrusion is complete," said Bobersky.

There are two categories of sites, according to Bobersky - legacy sites and active sites. With legacy sites, the cleanup decision was made prior to Jan. 1, 2003 and DEC officials will be taking a second look at them. There are 421 legacy sites in New York State and three that are found within the Plainview Water District's boundaries. DEC officials will look at the legacy sites during their second look and find out if the site has Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOCs) or Chlorinated Volatile Organic Chemicals (CVOCs).

The three legacy sites within the Plainview Water District's boundaries will be evaluated by two different entities. The Federal Government, specifically the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), will evaluate the Old Bethpage landfill and the Claremont Poly Chemical Corporation. The NYSDEC will address the Cherry Lane Lithography site.

Regarding the Old Bethpage Landfill, the original investigation did not include vapor intrusion. The closest residence is 100 feet and it was not necessary at the time.

Active sites are currently in the cleanup program and that will now include an evaluation of the vapor intrusion pathway.

The Plainview Industrial Park is 140 acres and contains approximately 75 buildings in a light industrial area and contains 13 sites with documented solvent use and three registry sites and one State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) Site. United Stellar Industries, which is actively being investigated, is an active site.

Site investigations were conducted at the Plainview Industrial Park and in August 1998 VOCs were detected in Well 2-1 and 7-1. In 1998, up to 150 ppb [parts per billion] of PCE were found in the groundwater and also lower concentrations of TCA and TCE. In 2002, up to 70 ppb of TCE were found in the groundwater.

According to Paul Granger, superintendent of the Plainview Water District, Plainview's water is tested every month and is safe to drink. The wells have extensive filtration systems. It was also stressed at the meeting that just because contamination is found in a well, does not mean that the public is drinking contaminated water - there is a difference between groundwater and drinking water.

To conduct the soil vapor survey at the Plainview Industrial Park, groundwater samples will be taken using hydropunch and samples will be taken about 100 feet below the ground's surface. Shallow soil vapor samples will be taken at additional locations at about 5- 8 feet below the ground's surface. Composite sediment samples will also be taken.

"We are going to blanket the park with 50 sampling locations," said Joseph Jones from NYSDEC. "We are going to concentrate on the 13 sites with VOCs, but also put the probes in other areas. We are looking for what we missed in the past."

Jacquelyn Nealon a public health specialist from the NYSDOH explained that there are three types of exposure - inhalation, dermal and consumption. "Most of the site [Plainview Industrial Park] is paved so there is no dermal exposure. Also, the groundwater flowing underneath may be contaminated but it is treated. No one will be exposed to that. And there is no threat of inhalation at this time," she said.

According to the DEC, they will ask the party responsible for contaminating the site to pay for and perform the vapor intrusion evaluation, as well as any site investigations and the installation and long-term operation and monitoring of any mitigation system, which would be required. If the responsible party refuses to perform these activities, or if no viable entity remains, the state will take responsibility for them, and will pursue cost recovery as in any Superfund site. This is the same with groundwater contamination.

Testing has already started and the DEC is waiting for further permits. The report of their findings, according to the DEC, should be completed by the end of the year and will be available at the Plainview Old Bethpage Public Library and the Plainview Water District.

For more information, visit www.dec.state.ny.us/website/der/vaporstrat.pdf