Feedback sought on Hauppauge brownfield cleanup

Hauppauge residents and concerned citizens are invited to comment on a state Department of Environmental Conservation draft work plan for a brownfield cleanup at 1735 Express Drive North, the site of a former chemical company.

The 1.58-acre parcel has a 30,000-square-foot concrete building on a slab foundation, with parking and landscaped areas. It was used by the Afta Chemical Corp. until 1981 for manufacturing, packaging and distributing chlorinated and nonchlorinated solvents, shampoos and cleaning fluids, according to the DEC.

Afta's operations involved tanks and drum storage areas, use of piping, floor drains and trenches, and discharges of industrial waste to on-site leaching facilities.

The site is now used by Maggio Data Forms Printing Ltd. for commercial printing operations since it was purchased from Afta. Maggio is undertaking the brownfields investigation into the nature and scope of contamination in the soil and groundwater, starting in February.

The DEC is accepting written comments about the plan through Jan. 20. The proposal is available at the Hauppauge library at 601 Veterans Memorial Hwy. The environmental and health assessment summaries are on the DEC’s website.