The state Department of Environmental Conservation released a Record of Decision this week to begin a massive clean-up project at a site in Ozone Park where the presence of hazardous waste and known carcinogens pose a significant threat to human health, according to DEC.The state Superfund project will target the former home of Ozone Industries, an aircraft parts manufacturer that rented several bays between 101st and 103rd avenues between 99th and 100th streets and used them to store hydraulic fluids, scrap metal chips and spent trichloroethylene, or TCE.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, if ingested or inhaled over long periods of time, TCE can cause headaches, nausea and dizziness and is a known carcinogen that has caused liver damage and increased the risk of cancer in animals.
To eliminate or mitigate the threat, the DEC plans to excavate the contaminated shallow soils and construct and operate a soil vapor extraction system and a sub-slab depressurization system in the disposal area.
Both on-site and off-site groundwater, as well as air quality, would be constantly monitored to ensure it isn’t tainted by chemicals, according to the DEC.
At a Dec. 9 public meeting at JHS 210 in Ozone Park, one in which few residents were in attendance because, they said, the DEC did a poor job alerting them to the issue, department officials said their goal is to approve a design plan by this summer and start the cleanup six to 12 months later.
DEC estimated its implementation cost would be $2.2 million, the construction cost would be $1.5 million and there would be an annual cost of $210,000 per year for two years following construction to monitor the system.
The entire cost would be covered by Endzone, the company now responsible for the area, according to the DEC.
