Solvay Wastebed 1-8 -A New York State Superfund Site (Registry #734081)
Fact Sheet No. 1
Description
Waste Beds 1-8 are located along the northwest shore of Onondaga Lake, adjacent to the city of Syracuse. Waste from the production of soda ash was pumped to settling basins adjacent to the lake shore. The water eventually evaporated, leaving the dry chalky white alkaline waste. Wastebeds 1-8 were used for the disposal of waste from the Allied Chemical plant for nearly 30 years, until 1943. In 1953, the State of New York acquired the waste beds from Allied, the portion of which nearest the lake shore was then acquired from the state by Onondaga County. In addition, Crucible Specialty Metals previously operated a landfill near the western end of the beds. The landfill was subsequently closed and is being monitored by Crucible. The waste beds rise 60 feet above the lake shore and cover over 300 acres of land. Presently, a portion of the beds are used for State Fair parking lots. Construction of another leg of the Onondaga Lake bike trail on top of the waste beds is slated for the near future.
Onondaga Bike Trail Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA) documents:
Onondaga Bike Trail HHRA App A
Onondaga Bike Trail HHRA App B
Onondaga Bike Trail HHRA Fact Sheet
Onondaga Bike Trail HHRA full text
Site Perimeter in relation to other Wastebeds
Site Perimeter
Figure 2: Proposed bike trail (in red)
Environmental Issues
The waste beds are composed of a series of perimeter dikes that were filled in with waste materials (primarily Solvay waste) consisting largely of calcium carbonate, gypsum, sodium chloride, and calcium chloride. A human health risk assessment (“Bike Trail HHRA”) was performed using environmental quality data collected from the site so as to determine the potential for increased cancer risks and non-cancer hazards associated with exposure to surface soil contamination from the future use of the recreational trail. The study found that the health risks for individuals who do not leave the proposed bike trail are below the EPA's level of concern. However, calculations for individuals who engage in ATV riding or other off-trail activities indicate a probability of developing cancer as a result of exposure to Site contaminants is at the upper end of, but does not exceed, EPA’s target risk range for acceptable exposures and that the non-cancer health hazard is slightly above EPA’s threshold, meaning that non-cancer health effects are possible, primarily from inhalation of manganese in dust generated by ATV use.
What's being done to address the problem?
Both baseline human health and ecological risk assessments are being conducted to support a remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS) being conducted for the wastebed 1-8 site. These assessments are expected to be completed in late 2009. To lower health risks for users of the proposed bike trail, the EPA recommends ensuring off trail use is prohibited by fencing or other means. Currently, the gates are often unlocked and fencing is inadequate to effectively keep trespassers from using the Site.
As stated above, for those who use the trail as intended, risks and hazards do not exceed EPA’s levels of concern. With the addition of the County's proposed controls, such as signage, physical barriers, and presence of park personnel to restrict riders from going off-trail, use of the bike trail by the general public would not be expected to result in unacceptable risks and hazards.
Contacts for more information and comments
Susan Edwards, Project Manager phone: 518-402-9676
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
625 Broadway, 12th floor; Albany, NY 12233-7016
Robert Nunes, Project Manager nunes.robert@epa.gov phone: 212-637-4254
Environmental Protection Agency
290 Broadway, 20th floor
New York, NY
For questions concerning the trail extension project, please contact:
David Coburn, Director davidcoburn@ongov.net phone: 315-435-2647
Office of the Environment, Onondaga County
421 Montgomery St.
Syracuse, NY 13202
Documents for this site are available for public inspection at:
Atlantic States Legal Foundation Depository Library
658 West Onondaga Street
Syracuse NY 13204-3711
Phone: 315-475-1170
Fax: 315-475-6719
http://www.aslf.org/
Onondaga County Public Library
Central Branch at the Galleries
447 South Salina Street
Syracuse, NY 13202
Phone: (315) 435-1800
Hours: M, Th, Fri, Sat, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.; Tu, W, 9:00 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233-7016
Phone: (518) 402-9676
Hours: M - Fri, 8:30 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.
Please call for an appointment
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Region 7
615 Erie Blvd. West
Syracuse, NY 13204-2400
Phone: (315) 426-7400
Hours: M - Fri, 8:30 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.
Please call for an appointment