SCE Environmental Group, Inc. recently won the Polymer Applications Site in Tonawanda, NY. 

The NY state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced this month that it will begin addressing contamination related to the Polymer Applications, Inc. state Superfund site at 3445 River Road, across from the NRG Huntley station.

SCE mobilized to the site on March 14th, 2011 for site set up and preliminary work activities.

Cleanup for the site includes excavating soils from a biotreatment cell at the site that contains high levels of contamination and capping the site with clean soil. 

According to the DEC, an estimated 15,500 tons of contaminated biotreatment cell soil exists at depths greater than 2 feet and in concentrations at levels that require cleanup. That soil must be removed and then disposed off-site.

The project also includes:

• Dismantling and removing the on-site treatment system building and equipment.

• Demolishing and disposing of the buildings located within and surrounding the biotreatment cell.

• Removing and disposing of groundwater monitoring wells, recovery wells and all associated underground piping within the excavation limits.

At a cost of $5.5 million, cleanup work at the site is expected to take six months to complete. Truck traffic to and from the site will be limited to non-residential areas as much as possible, the DEC said.

Once site work is complete, restrictions will be imposed on the property, limiting its future use and development to commercial or industrial applications, and restricting the use of groundwater.

Polymer Applications operated on the 6.7 acre site from 1968 through 1988. Its activities included the manufacture of products for use in the automotive, paint and coatings industries.

In July 1988, a fire severely damaged the process and tank farm areas of the site, releasing an estimated 70,000 gallons of a phenol/solvent mixture.

Since that time, both the Environmental Protection Agency and the DEC have performed cleanup actions at the site, including removing 3,537 tons of contaminated concrete and 8,500 tons of contaminated soil.