DEC advances probe of Glen Cove Superfund site

The state Department of Environmental Conservation this month began a new scheduled stage of investigation into Glen Cove Superfund site Ronhill Cleaners.

The site at Forest and Bryce avenues is currently a shoe store but was formerly home to a dry-cleaning facility that improperly dumped tetrachloroethene, or PCE, between 1963 and 1993, state officials said.

PCE, a dry-cleaning chemical, contaminated the soil and groundwater, officials said.

Residents may notice the installation of groundwater monitoring wells on and near the site, officials said. A feasibility study will result from the current stage of investigation and then a cleanup plan will be drafted, officials said.

The Ronhill Cleaners property is a Class 2 site in the state list of superfund sites, representing a “significant threat to public health or the environment” and requiring action.

The state finished an environmental assessment on the site in 1990 with other assessments conducted between then and 2005, when the state initiated a remedial investigation to delineate off-site contamination.

A remedial investigation work plan was approved in 2008 to continue the delineation. A soil vapor extraction system is currently being used to remove contamination on site.

More information on the efforts is available on the state Department of Environmental Conservation website, www.dec.ny.gov, and at Glen Cove Public Library, 4 Glen Cove Ave.

Above: Glen Cove City Hall