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Wells contaminated in Nassau from state Superfund site

A view of the Dewey Loeffel Landfill on Monday, July 26, 2021, in Nassau, N.Y. Another Superfund site connected to the landfill has been found to have contaminated residential wells in December 2021. (Paul Buckowski/Times Union)

A view of the Dewey Loeffel Landfill on Monday, July 26, 2021, in Nassau, N.Y. Another Superfund site connected to the landfill has been found to have contaminated residential wells in December 2021. (Paul Buckowski/Times Union)

Paul Buckowski/Times Union

NASSAU – A carcinogenic chemical used in degreasing has been discovered in 12 residential wells, including one above the state allowable standard, in a plume extending south of a state Superfund site headed toward Columbia County, the town supervisor said Monday.

“There’s one well above the state standard. They are currently on bottled water. The EPA has begun the process for an in-home treatment facility for that property,” Nassau Supervisor David Fleming said.

The carcinogen TCE, or trichloroethylene, has come from the environmentally hazardous state Superfund site on Route 203, which is connected to the federal Superfund site at the Dewely Loeffel Landfill, said Fleming.  The state maximum contaminant level for TCE is five parts per billion.

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"The EPA has confirmed additional residential wells in Nassau have been impacted by contamination seeping into the groundwater from a new state Superfund Site associated with Dewey Loeffel toxin transport and dumping operations from decades ago,” Fleming said.

“Our immediate priority is the most rapid protection of human health possible. Our additional priority is the cleanup of this new contamination discovered along Route 203, just north of I-90 and the Columbia County border,” Fleming said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported it collected tap water samples at 61 residences in October near the Route 203 site. There was no TCE detected in 48 residences. TCE was found in a well on the Route 203 site.

EPA said in its overview of the work that it is working with the town, Rensselaer County, state Health Department and the state Department of Environmental Conservation in dealing with the Route 203 site.

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“EPA will sample tap water from additional residences in the Route 203 area in the coming weeks. In late winter, the drums located on the Route 203 site will be removed and the liquid in the two underground storage tanks will be pumped and disposed off-site,” the federal agency reported.

The Dewey Loeffel Landfill is considered a toxic dump as a result of an estimated 46,000 tons of industrial waste buried there. The toxic materials included industrial solvents, waste oil, PCBs, scrap materials, sludge and solids.

Trucks that hauled loads to the Dewey Loeffel Landfill are believed to have gone to the site on Route 203 to be washed out, resulting in the contamination.  In listing this site, the state cited “on-site soil, groundwater, and pond sediments are contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls, volatile organic compounds, and metals above standards, criteria, and guidance levels” as the decision to give it the state Superfund designation.

Fleming said there are seven homes in the test area in which the property owners could not be reached to conduct the water assessment.  He said efforts are being made to connect with these individuals.  Fleming urged the homeowners to allow EPA access to conduct the water tests.

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“It’s going south toward Columbia County,” Fleming said about the groundwater pollution running from the Route 203 site.

“It highlights the need to get a public drinking water source to these people,” Fleming said. “This has been my personal concern since we learned of the contamination.”

 

Kenneth C. Crowe II covers Rensselaer County for the Times Union. He writes about Troy, US Census, northeastern Albany County and whatever else comes up. Screenwriting is a fascination. You can reach him at kcrowe@timesunion.com.