Pasley Solvents and Chemicals Company ran a chemical tank farm on a 75-by-275-foot property in Hempstead, Nassau County, New York from 1969 to 1982. The facility stored oils, solvents, and hydrocarbons and also accepted waste and sludge from outside sources. Poor handling practices spread contamination into soil and groundwater both on and off the property. EPA added the site to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) in June 1986.
EPA identified 22 contaminants of concern across soil, groundwater, or both. These include chlorinated solvents such as trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, and 1,1,1-trichloroethane, as well as chloroform, chlorobenzene, benzene-related compounds, naphthalene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, and phthalate esters. A 400-by-60-foot groundwater plume formed beneath and around the site.
EPA selected a cleanup plan in April 1992 covering the entire site as a single operable unit. The remedy used soil vapor extraction for contaminated soil and a combination of groundwater extraction and air sparging for the plume. An amended plan adopted in May 1995 refined those methods. Remedial construction ran from June 1997 and was completed by late 1997, with treatment equipment removed in August 2004. Two five-year reviews, completed in August 2004 and July 2009, confirmed the remedies protected public health and the environment. Key legal agreements included an Administrative Order of Consent finalized in August 1988 and a Consent Decree in January 1996.
Monitoring confirmed that soil cleanup goals were met and groundwater was treated to federal or state standards. Human exposure is under control, and contaminated groundwater movement has been stabilized with no unacceptable discharge to surface water. EPA determined the site suitable for unlimited use and unrestricted exposure and deleted it from the NPL on September 26, 2011. The property was redeveloped into a police station after Plato Holding LLC purchased it in August 2003 and worked with the Metropolitan Transit Authority on the conversion.
Community members with questions can contact EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator or the Remedial Project Manager.
