[CPEO-BIF] Greenpoint, Brooklyn vapor intrustion

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

[I visited this area in November. I believe New York City has many such 
sites, with TCE and PCE plumes under neighborhoods. This one was 
discovered only because of sampling related to the Exxon spill. - LS]


A Problem Rises to the Surface in Greenpoint

By MIREYA NAVARRO
New York Times
December 8, 2008

For decades, people in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, have lived with the 
possible health hazards from oil spills in their industrial waterfront. 
Up to 30 million gallons of petroleum - almost three times the amount 
dumped off the Alaskan coast by the Exxon Valdez in 1989 - made their 
way into Newtown Creek and surrounding neighborhoods from dozens of 
refineries over more than a century.

Now residents have a new anxiety: Toxic gases may be rising into their 
homes from below, the legacy of dry-cleaning plants, foundries and other 
manufacturers that once operated in this hub, which has long been home 
to immigrants and, more recently, artists and young professionals.

Such vapor intrusion - chemicals from contaminated soil and groundwater 
that become airborne, entering buildings through pores and cracks - has 
become a growing public health concern around the country in recent 
years. Contaminants that spread from industrial activity, or that were 
mistakenly believed to have been contained or eliminated in 
environmental cleanups, have been discovered wafting into basements. 
Since 2005, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation 
has been testing around the state to gauge the extent of the problem.

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/08/nyregion/08greenpoint.html?_r=1

--


Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org



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