An estimated $8 million cleanup is expected to begin this month at the former G.T.E. Products Corporation site in Seneca Falls, targeting contaminated soil and groundwater at the Johnston Street property.
The work at 50 Johnston St. is expected to take 12 to 18 months, according to an October fact sheet from the state Department of Environmental Conservation. GTE Operations Support Incorporated will perform the cleanup under DEC oversight.
Supervisor Frank Schmitter highlighted the project during the Nov. 3 Town Board meeting.
The 64.2-acre property is primarily used for warehousing, and that use is expected to continue.
Cleanup targets solvents and cadmium
Investigators identified solvent-related contamination in soil and groundwater, including trichloroethene, commonly called TCE, and chemicals produced as those solvents break down.
Cadmium was also found in soil and sediment in historical drainage ditches. Concentrated liquid solvent contamination was identified between 20 and 32 feet below the ground’s surface.
The cleanup will address those problems in several ways.
Crews will excavate soil containing cadmium above the site’s cleanup limits and transport it off-site for disposal. Additional sampling will help determine whether the excavation meets cleanup goals.
An electrical resistance heating system will treat solvent contamination underground, including contamination in soil and groundwater.
The plan also calls for a protective cover using buildings, pavement, sidewalks or soil. Where a soil cover is required, it will include at least one foot of soil meeting the applicable standards.
An environmental easement will establish restrictions on future land use and require continued implementation of a site management plan.
Air monitoring planned during work
DEC says a site-specific health and safety plan and a community air monitoring plan will be implemented during the cleanup.
Those plans include air monitoring and measures to suppress dust and odors, with procedures intended to protect workers and nearby residents.
The property includes approximately 13 acres of interconnected buildings constructed between 1914 and the 1970s. The remaining land consists of parking lots, roads, lawns and woods.
Its industrial history stretches back more than a century. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s site history, the Rumsey Pump Company constructed the original buildings in 1914. Sylvania later acquired and expanded the plant to manufacture television components, and Philips continued production after purchasing the property in 1981.
Final report will document results
After the work is completed, GTE Operations Support will prepare a final engineering report describing the cleanup and documenting whether its requirements have been achieved or will be achieved.
DEC will review that report and issue another public fact sheet explaining the results and any continuing restrictions or protective measures needed at the property.
The project is being conducted through the state’s Resource Conservation and Recovery Act corrective action program.
Residents can review project records in DEC’s online document repository or at the Seneca Falls Library, 47 Cayuga St. The site identification number is 850003.
Project questions can be directed to DEC project manager Charlotte Theobald at 585-226-5354 or charlotte.theobald@dec.ny.gov.
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