More Contamination Than Expected Uncovered in Vets Nature Study Area

A contractor hired by the Town of Huntington to remove contaminated fill from the located off of Bellerose Avenue uncovered about 30 percent more tainted material than expected.

The original bid specification called for the excavation, transportation and disposal of approximately 2,040 cubic yards of contaminated fill.
The estimate was based on information gathered from test pits, according to the resolution. The work began in April.

It was funded by a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation assistance contract in the amount of $51,050. The DEC has also agreed to pay the additional $2,050 necessary for the newly uncovered fill.

The Huntington Town Board approved at its Tuesday, July 12 board meeting an amendment to its contract with the contractor, Medford-based D.F. Stone Contracting, LTD.

The site, an undeveloped 34-acre parcel that is part of a larger 200-acre park between Bellerose Avenue and Middleville Road, was donated to the town in 1976 by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.The property abuts to the . It's largely wooded, with several unpaved roads, one paved road and, the cause of the problem, a three-acre former disposal area in the middle of the site.

A three-acre portions of the site was used to disposeof solid waste over the years. Material was dumped in open trenches along with the burning of trash and the disposal of hospital incinerator ash through the late 1960's. The disposal area became contaminated along with several pathways next to the site that were impacted with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) through oils contaminated with PCBs.
The contaminated oils were used for dust control in the adjacent pathways leading to the disposal area.

An interim remedial measure performed by the Town of Huntington has already removed hazardous levels of PCB impacted soils from the adjacent pathways.

The property is now part of the refurbished Veteran's Park adjacent to Bellerose Avenue Elementary School.