Flushing Commons & Ridgewood Post Office site are both toxic

From the Times Ledger:

Just before the new year, Essex Capital Partners Ltd., a Manhattan-based national real estate firm, submitted paperwork to demolish a shuttered post office and two one-story commercial buildings, at 16-14 through 16-32 Madison St., and build a 63,395-square-foot apartment building in their place. The developer plans to include 46 parking spots, according to city Department of Building filings.

[In August], 1614 Madison Partners inked a Brownfield Cleanup Program agreement with the state Environmental Department of Conservation. Under the cleanup initiative, the state attempts to spur owners of contaminated property to redevelop the sites by offering them tax benefits to remediate the pollution.

The developer’s two-lot purchase once housed the Philru Knitting Mill and contains concentrations of a toxic chemical often used to dry clean fabrics and de-grease metals that exceed state guidelines, according to paperwork 1614 Madison Partners filed with the DEC.

The DEC received a draft investigation work plan for the site and invited the public to share feedback through Jan. 10 on how the LLC proposes to examine the site’s contamination.

After adjusting the investigation plan, if necessary, 1614 Madison Partners will use the results of environmental tests to compile a report and draft a proposed cleanup plan. The public may view and comment on the proposal before the state decides whether to sign off on it.

Preliminary tests found concentrations of tetrachloroethene — commonly known as PCE — above state limits in shallow soil, soil vapor and groundwater, according to the draft investigation work plan.

The Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry has determined that exposure to high concentrations of PCE can cause dizziness, headaches, sleepiness, confusion, nausea, difficulty speaking or walking, unconsciousness and death, according to the agency. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has concluded that PCE “may reasonably be anticipated to be a carcinogen” because it has caused liver and kidney tumors in rodents.

From the Times Ledger:

The developers of the Flushing Commons project have opted into a city-run, environmental cleanup program after low levels of contaminants were found below Municipal Lot 1 — protecting them from future enforcement actions from city or state environmental agencies.

The mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation said the plan to remediate conditions at the site covers only the first phase of the Rockefeller Group’s $850 million development scheduled to kick off in March.

A 2006 investigation by Flushing Commons’ engineers found contaminants in the soil and groundwater below the parking lot at marginally low levels, but because they may pose safety hazards as construction crews excavate and dispose of about 178,000 tons of soil, the plan lays out guidelines for the safe handling of the soil.

The city’s voluntary cleanup program also offers Rockefeller the guarantee that city and state environmental agencies will not pursue enforcement actions that could delay construction schedules.

Tests at the site found methyl tert-butyl — a gasoline additive commonly found as a pollutant in the city — the dry cleaning solution PERC and metals such as lead and nickel in the groundwater at levels nominally higher than the quality standards set by the state.

Lead was found in the soil at levels deemed safe for residential use but too dangerous to use in sensitive wetlands or as fill on farms.

While the source of the contaminants has not been determined, it is suspected it may have come from a 1-foot-thick layer of soil fill found below the pavement.