Environmental Cleanup Pall Corporation

Ongoing Cleanup at Pall Corporation

NYSDEC Project ID: 130053B

Pall Corporation and Photocircuits Sites - Ground Water Remediation Presentation May 2019 (PDF, 147 KB, 15 pages) (English)

Pall Corporation and Photocircuits Sites - Ground Water Remediation Presentation May 2019 (PDF, 149 KB, 15 pages) (Español)

Pall Corporation Site - Community Involvement Plan April 2019 (PDF, 286 KB, 14 pages) (English)

Pall Corporation Site - Community Involvement Plan April 2019 (PDF, 274 KB, 15 pages) (Español)

Questions and Answers: Frequently Asked Questions - Pall Corporation August 2018 (PDF, 207 KB, 5 pages) (English)

Questions and Answers: Frequently Asked Questions - Pall Corporation August 2018 (PDF, 76 KB, 5 pages) (Español)

New York State is committed to a careful and thorough cleanup of the Pall Corporation property. Our foremost priority is ensuring the public (including day care staff, children and visitors) does not come in contact with any of the site's subsurface contamination. Potential ways that people could be exposed to contaminated soil, sediment, groundwater, and soil vapor have been appropriately addressed:

  • Groundwater is not used as a source of public drinking water in the area.
  • Contaminated soils are mainly covered by buildings and pavement.
  • Ventilation fans create airflow across the crawlspace under the Glen Cove Day Care Center and prevent soil vapors from penetrating into the building.
  • To date, indoor air quality at the day care has been tested and shown to be below NYS Department of Health (DOH) air guideline values.

2018 Remedial Activities

Remedial Design:

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is designing a treatment system to clean up the shallow and deep groundwater contamination on the Pall Corporation property, and the deep groundwater contamination originating at the neighboring Photocircuits property. The design to clean up the Pall Corporation site is nearing completion and will include the installation of additional on-site and off-site injection wells to actively treat shallow and deep contaminated groundwater. Treatment of contaminated groundwater consists of in-situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) and hydraulic control. During ISCO treatment, oxidants are added into contaminated soil and groundwater. This addition generates chemical reactions that destroy contamination and produce harmless byproducts.

At Pall Corporation, base activated sodium persulfate will be injected into the on-site groundwater to destroy contaminants. The hydraulic control will extract groundwater at the downgradient edge of the contaminated plume and re-inject the extracted groundwater up gradient of the ISCO treatment area. This will increase contact between the oxidant and the contaminants, and will prevent surfacing of the groundwater. This work will be procured over this winter and performed in 2019.

An enhanced Community Air Monitoring Plan (CAMP) will include air and dust monitoring during all cleanup activities. Dust control measures (e.g. watering) will be undertaken to reduce dust on temporary dirt roadways and open excavations. No visible dust should leave the work areas, and if air monitors detect dust above action levels, work will be stopped until corrective measures are in place. Continuous air monitoring will be required during the well drilling and trenching.

Soil Vapor Intrusion (SVI):

In August 2018, the DEC conducted a comprehensive investigation at the adjacent day care and boxing club to gather data and monitor air quality. The resulting 24-hour summa canister samples are currently being analyzed. Additionally, the DEC will replace the current ventilation system in the Glen Cove Day Care Center crawlspace with a new system.

Expedited Actions

In-situ Chemical Oxidation (ISCO):

Base activated sodium persulfate will be injected into the ground to remediate a roughly 60 by 90 foot area of contaminated soil. Soil remediation via ISCO is planned to begin Spring 2019.

Summary of Previous Work

Two ISCO injections were implemented in 2002 and 2005 to treat contaminated shallow groundwater, as described in the Record of Decision (ROD). One pilot test utilized sodium permanganate while the other used Fenton's Reagent. Both tests were found to be insufficient in the cleanup of soil and groundwater contamination at Pall Corporation.

Pall Corporation and the City of Glen Cove have installed a ventilation system in the Glen Cove Day Care Center crawlspace to protect the indoor air quality from methane beneath the building. A methane detection system was installed in the day care to provide additional safety measures.

Investigations of Properties Outside Pall Corporation

In addition to the cleanup efforts on the Pall Corporation property, DEC and the New York State Department of Health (DOH) are invested in the mitigation of potential off-site contaminant migration to the west of the surrounding community. Based on the Remedial Investigation and Record of Decision, there are no indications that contaminants have migrated to the northeast or southwest of Pall Corporation or have been disposed outside the Pall Corporation and Photocircuits properties. The migration of contaminants at Pall Corporation in groundwater have been investigated and monitored by DEC. Sampling data suggests that the contamination has been breaking down and slightly diminishing in concentration. This decreasing trend will intensify with the implementation of the remedy. No one is coming in contact with or drinking the groundwater as the municipal public water supply serves this area and is routinely monitored.

Background

Site Features:

The 4.66-acre property is owned by Pall Corporation and consists of an area of sparsely vegetated packed dirt and a large concrete slab. The 30 Sea Cliff Avenue building (the Pall facility) has been demolished and all that remains is the slab on grade. 36 Sea Cliff Avenue is currently occupied by August Thomsen and is used to manufacture pastry bags and tubes. The site is zoned for commercial use, and the surrounding parcels are zoned residential, commercial, and industrial.

The Pall Corporation property, located at 30 to 36 Sea Cliff Avenue, is bounded by Sea Cliff Avenue to the south, the Glen Cove Creek to the west, and an arterial highway to the east. The Glen Cove Day Care Center and Glen Cove Boxing Club are located north (downgradient) of the site. Adjacent to the day care center is the inactive Carney Street public water supply well field. One well at the well field is still viable for potable use and is 168 feet deep; however, this well has been out of service since 1978. Photocircuits Corporation is located south of the Pall site directly across Sea Cliff Avenue (more information provided in Related Sites section below).

Site History:

Pall Corporation (founded in 1946) used both industrial buildings at 30 and 36 Sea Cliff Avenue to manufacture filtration products and store solvents. Subsequently, spent solvents were released into the ground. Nassau County industrial chemical profiles indicate that Pall Corporation used tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE) at the site.

  • 1918-1953: The building at 30 Sea Cliff Avenue (Pall facility) was constructed as used as an ice house.
  • 1953-1999: Pall Corporation purchased and occupied the building at 30 Sea Cliff Avenue.
  • 1958-1971: Pall Corporation constructed and occupied the building at 36 Sea Cliff Avenue (August Thomsen facility).
  • 1971-present: August Thomsen purchased and currently occupies 36 Sea Cliff Avenue.

Operable Units:

Pall Corporation is divided into two operable units (OU). An operable unit represents a portion of a remedial program for a site that, for technical or administrative reasons, can be addressed separately to investigate, eliminate or mitigate a release, threat of release or exposure pathway resulting from the site contamination. OU1 at Pall Corporation includes surface and shallow subsurface contamination both on-site and off-site, while OU2 targets deep on-site and off-site contamination. The primary contaminants of concern found in OU1 and OU2 are volatile organic compounds (VOCs): chlorinated solvents tetrachloroethene (PCE), trichloroethene (TCE), dichloroethene (DCE), vinyl chloride (VC), trichloroethane (TCA) and dichloroethane (DCA) in both soil and groundwater.

Public Meetings

DEC and DOH held a public meeting on February 28, 2013 at the Glen Cove City Hall to discuss proposed remedial action plans for OU-2.

Information provided at the public meeting includes:

What is Exposure? (link leaves DEC's website)

Additional public meetings will be held at later stages of the project as necessary and will be announced here.

Previous Work Done

1994 Preliminary Site Assessment (PSA):

  • Nassau County Department of Public Works submits a Preliminary Site Assessment (PSA) to DEC.

1999 Order on Consent:

  • Pall Corporation enters Order on Consent to complete a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) Phase II investigation.

2000 Interim Remedial Measures (IRMs):

  • Purpose: effectively address the source of contamination or exposure pathway before the completion of the RI/FS.
  • Components: soil vapor extraction system, in-situ chemical oxidation (potassium permanganate).

2004 Record of Decision-OU1:

  • The Record of Decision (ROD) for OU1 selected a remedy to clean up the surface and shallow subsurface contamination. The ROD stated that contaminated soil will be cleaned up using excavation or in-situ chemical oxidation. The selected remedy for shallow groundwater contamination was in-situ chemical oxidation.

2009 Remedial Investigation (RI) for OU2:

  • The installation of monitoring wells was completed to analyze groundwater conditions.
  • The nature of contamination data collected in this investigation was consistent with historical data and indicate remedial action is still warranted.

2013 Record of Decision-OU2:

  • Determined ISCO treatment will be used to target deep groundwater contamination. Pilot studies conducted post ROD have determined that base activated sodium persulfate is the preferred oxidant for the remediation of contaminated groundwater at the Pall Corporation site.

Document Access Information

The links below provide access to Fact Sheets prepared by DEC:

Work Plans and Other Documents:

Additional Information:

Additional information and other documents pertaining to the site are available in hard copy for public review at the following locations:

Glen Cove Public Library
4 Glen Cove Avenue
Glen Cove, NY 11542
(516) 676-2130

DEC
Region 1 Office
SUNY @ Stony Brook
50 Circe Road
Stony Brook, NY 11790
Contact Bill Fonda for an appointment
(631) 444-0350

DEC
625 Broadway, 12th Floor
SUNY @ Stony Brook
Albany, NY 12233-7017
Contact George Momberger for an appointment
(518) 402-0449

Additional information regarding the project may be obtained by contacting DEC's Stony Brook Office at (631) 444-0200 or DEC's Albany Office at (518) 402-9814

Project Management Contact Information

For project-related questions, contact the DEC Project Manager:

George Momberger, P.E.
DEC
Division of Environmental Remediation
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233-7017
(518) 402-0449
[email protected]

For project-related health questions, please contact DOH Project Manager:
Angela Martin
DOH
Bureau of Environmental Exposure Investigation
Empire State Plaza, Corning Tower Room 1787
Albany, NY 12237
(518) 402-7860
[email protected]

Related Sites

Photocircuits site 130009 (31 Sea Cliff Avenue):

This site is roughly 10-acres and contains several large abandoned buildings, former parking areas, and roadways. Remediation of the site is ongoing. Deep groundwater contamination at the Pall Corporation site has been impacted by former operations of Photocircuits and will be addressed during the remediation of Pall Corporation OU-2. The Pall Corporation site is located to the north, directly across Sea Cliff Avenue from the Photocircuits site.


Contact for this Page

Division of Environmental Remediation
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233

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