The NuHart remediation project remains underway, and while concerns continue among residents — especially those living, working, and raising children in close proximity to the site — regarding health and safety, a representative from Capalino, an NYC urban strategy firm associated with the project, recently responded to questions specifically regarding site and pollutant containment (and, particularly, uncovered construction areas).
An email from Ashley Thompson DiNardo, Capalino’s managing director who has been sharing weekly updates on the site progress, explained the following:
The remediation work of soil impacted from the historical operations will occur within the designed enclosure. The concrete slab, which acts as a protective barrier, remains in place on areas of the Site with the soil impacted from the historical operations until the enclosure is installed. There are currently two operations that are not occurring within an enclosure. The first is installation of the LNAPL barrier wall (subgrade sheetpile wall) which is necessary to facilitate installation of the enclosure (serves as the anchoring system for the enclosure). The second is the limited excavation on the Brownfield portion of the Site (NuHart East) which contains soil that is similar to the majority of the sites within the neighborhood and is typical for urbanized areas with the five boroughs.
The remediation of soil impacted from the historical operations will occur in phases and the tent will be relocated on the site accordingly.
Neighbors have also voiced concerns about air quality and dust present in the surrounding area. To that end, the site undergoes daily air monitoring reports, which can be accessed here.
Currently, excavation under the tent and open air excavation are expected to resume by mid-week after pausing over the weekend while a soil mix rig was picked up. NuHart West’s final sheet piles are reportedly substantially complete. Subscribe to weekly NuHart updates (sent every Friday) here.