Environmental Pollutants
Other Contaminants Superfund Sites NYNew York Superfund Site: Smithtown Ground Water Contamination
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Do you need a Toxic Tort Attorney in The Excelsior State? The U.S. E.P.A. has designated Smithtown Ground Water Contamination in New York as a Superfund site due to its levels of enviromental contamination and harm to the natural world. You can read the report for the site below.
Some Superfund sites are on the National Priority Site Lists. The National Priorities List ("NPL") is the list of hazardous waste sites in the United States eligible for long-term remedial action financed under the federal Superfund program. Environmental Protection Agency regulations outline a formal process for assessing hazardous waste sites and placing them on the NPL. The NPL is intended primarily to guide the EPA in determining which sites warrant further investigation.
Sites are listed on the NPL upon completion of Hazard Ranking System (HRS) screening, public solicitation of comments about the proposed site, and after all comments have been addressed. EPA may delete a final NPL site if it determines that no further response is required to protect human health or the environment. Sites where a remediation was completed through the Superfund program are typically deleted from the NPL.
Living near Superfund Sites in New York may place you and the people you love at risk of developing a disease from exposure to the site and experiencing a loss of value for your property, but there are steps you can take to fight back: The EPA says,
[We have] set up a "Post Construction Completion" (or PCC) strategy to ensure that Superfund response actions provide for the long-term protection of human health and the environment. EPA's Post Construction Completion activities also involve optimizing remedies to increase effectiveness and/or reduce cost without sacrificing long-term protection of human health and the environment.Even so, most of the Superfund sites continue to pose a threat the well-being of local residents.
When you rely on Weitz & Luxenberg, you benefit from the legal experience of skilled Toxic Tort lawyers who will help fight back against polluters and get you and your family the compensation and remediation to which you are entitled.
Below you can read the EPA report for the Smithtown Ground Water Contamination Superfund site. If you, a loved one, or someone in your community has suffered due to exposure to a Superfund site Smithtown Ground Water Contamination, or if your property has lost value because of contamination, you are better off with a toxic tort attorney who knows the people of the State of New York . Take your first step filling out this simple form. There is no obligation, and your case will be evaluated within 24 hours. To refer a friend, neighbor, or loved one, follow this link to let them know about the environmental toxic tort attorneys at Weitz & Luxenberg.
Smithtown Ground Water Contamination
This site is not a Federal Facility.
Smithtown Groundwater
Contamination
New York
Epa Region 2
Site Description
The Smithtown Groundwater Contamination site is an area of contaminated groundwater
which has impacted drinking water in the Town of Smithtown in a location that includes the
Villages of Nissequogue and Head of the Harbor and the Hamlet of St. James. Ther
approximately 500 homes in the immediate vicinity of the site. Many homes in Smithtown use
private wells for a potable water supply and septic systems for sanitary waste disposal. The
site is situated south of Stony Brook Harbor and east of the Nis
site is located in a residential area, active commercial areas are located within one mile to the
Site Responsibility:
Threats and Contaminants
n April 1998, EPA sampled 295 homes in the Smithtown area in an effort to determine the extent
of contamination. Analytical results from this sampling event indicated the presence of volatile
organic compounds (VOCs), particularly perchloroethylene (PCE), and its breakdown products,
PCE is a solvent used in dry cleaning and metal cleaning operations and
is the principal contaminant in the groundwater within the impacted area. PCE is considered a
n carcinogen by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. A removal
action level (RAL) of 70 parts per billion (ppb) for PCE has been exceeded in six private wells.
Under the Superfund Program, if any contaminant concentration exceeds its RAL, EP
term action to address that contamination. In addition,
private wells had detectable concentrations of VOCs above the maximum contaminant level
MCLs are the maximum permissible levels of a contaminant that may be
present in water used for drinking purposes.
Contact with water containing VOCs, such as PCE, above the MCLs may cause an increased risk
term exposure. Exposure to PCE can occur from ingesti
contaminated water, ingestion of food prepared with contaminated water, or inhalation of vapors
from activities such as showering. The levels ofPCE detected in residential wells above the RAL
may pose an immediate threat to public health.
Cleanup A
This site is being addressed in two phases: Immediate actions to provide alternate water supplies
term remedial phase focusing on the cleanup of the entire site.
Response Action Status
Immediate Ac
Based on the results of well water samples taken in April 1998, EPA
initiated a Superfund Removal Action to supply bottled water to six residences with wells
contaminated above the RAL. In June 1998, bottled water deliveries were expanded to includ
wells contaminated above the MCLs. These actions were taken to protect the health of the public
until a more permanent solution can be implemented.
EPA took further action. Where a public water supply was
the impacted residences were connected. This included installing the service line from
the water company’s distribution system at the property line to the house and disconnecting the
well. At homes where water mains were not available, EPA installed individual carbon treatment
systems or upgraded existing household treatment systems to EPA specifications.
Four rounds of private well samples were collected from 1999 through 2003. A total of 182
private wells were sampled during the four rounds. Homes w
exceeding EPA MCLs were addressed by providing connection to the public water system
To date EPA has addressed 39 private wells with PCE levels above or equal to the EPA MCL of 5
ppb by connecting the well owners to the public water supply or installing a water treatment
system in individual properties where public water mains are not available.
Over the past several years the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
stigation/ Feasibility Study (RI/FS) evaluation of the
I/FS documents along with the Human Health Risk Assessment and
Screening Level Ecological Risk Assessment reports
e and a public meeting was on June 29, 2004. Subsequently, a
Record of Decision (ROD) was signed by EPA on September 30, 2004. A transcript of the public
meeting and all the final documents are available at the Smithtown Library for public review.
Cleanup Progress
To date the field investigations undertaken for the RI included work in the residential areas of the
site and work at potential sources along Lake Avenue and North Country Road. Investigations
ded geophysical surveys for underground utilities; groundwater screening surveys at 12
locations in the residential area and 11 locations at potential sources; installation of 6 piezometers
(wells), 14 monitoring wells, and environmental sampling. Sampling included three rounds of
piezometer well samples, two rounds of monitoring well and piezometer well samples, four rounds
of residential well samples; surface water/sediment samples, septic system wastewater and
sludge samples. Sample results
ed with applicable or appropriate Federal and New
York State standards and/or criteria to determine the extent of contamination.
Groundwater contamination in the Smithtown area has been identified in isolated pockets which
most likely represent small slugs of contamination that were input into the groundwater in the
distant past. Groundwater flow on a regional scale is generally toward the north/northwest and
Long Island Sound. On a local scale, groundwater flow is complex. The two major water bodies in
the area, the Nissequogue River to the west and Stony Brook Harbor to the northeast, act as
The RI was not able to pinpoint the exact source of groundwater contamination. Because of the
ts of the contamination observed in the residential wells, a
detections may represent
small, isolated slugs of contamination that were may have been released periodically in the past,
ly as small point sources through septic systems. The observed patterns of groundwater
contamination in the residential areas do not represent a mappable groundwater plume and no
clear link was established between the residential area and areas where conta
ROD, EPA selected a remedy of providing an alternate water supply to
homes currently and potentially impacted (identified in the ROD)
with volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particularly perchloroethylene (other than those homes
that were connected to the public water supply during EPA’s removal action); institutional controls
to restrict use of contaminated groundwater; longterm groundwater and surface water monitoring
f the adjacent Nissequogue River and Stony Brook Harbor; and periodic site reviews using data
obtained through the annual groundwater and surface water sampling program. Federal Govt.
funds to conduct the remedy selected in the ROD are being secured. This work is expected to
Site Repository
Copies of site related documents are available at:
source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Act Now! It is essential that you inquire about your pollutant lawsuit as soon as possible. New York law may limit your time to bring a legal claim to protect your rights. Your legal review is free and there is no commitment. You case will be evaluated immediately, so get started on your claim today!
see also:
Sealand Restoration, Inc.
Environmental Pollution in New York- Site: Sealand Restoration, Inc.Sealand Restoration, Inc. Superfund Site Info - Fight Air Pollution, Water Pollution
Sarney Farm
Environmental Pollution in New York- Site: Sarney FarmSarney Farm Superfund Site Info - Fight Air Pollution, Water Pollution
Sa - Sz
New York Superfund Sites: Sa - SzNew York Superfund Site Info - Fight Air Pollution, Water Pollution
