A two-month public comment period is now open for you to submit feedback on the proposed cleanup of the NuHart Plastics Superfund site, where two large plumes of phthalates and trichloroethylene (amongst a cauldron of other toxins) remain in the soil and groundwater at 280 Franklin Street from vinyl plastics manufatcuring dating back to the mid-20th century.
The lots that compose the NuHart Plastics building at Dupont, Franklin and Clay Streets.
The operators of NuHart Plastics vacated the site in 2004 leaving behind toxins in 12 leaky underground storage tanks and two aboveground silos. Over the years the gooey liquid phthalates mixed with groundwater and migrated toward the Greenpoint Playground and the adjacent lot where a potential school is planned, conveniently stopping at the playground’s edge on Franklin St.
The phthalates plume located at the NuHart Plastics site.
Since scaffolding was erected last week on Dupont Street, complaints to 311 and NYC Council Member Stephen Levin’s Office have been rolling in.
Greenpoint’s former NuHart Plastics manufacturing facility is partially a state-managed Superfund Site and is divided into 10 parcels spanning an entire acre on Clay, Dupont and Franklin Streets. Two of the “uncontaminated” lots are scheduled to undergo demolition in the coming weeks.
Scaffolding on Dupont Street in Greenpoint lacks visible permiting and stretches far beyond Lot 57. Photo by A. Simon
At press time, the scaffolding lacked visible street-level permits and extends far beyond Lot 57 to include adjacent Lot 17. This is the latest in a series of well-documented missteps by the Dupont Street Developers and their rotating cast of contractors. Continue reading →
Now that the smoke has cleared from the attempted Halloween dance party incident at the NuHart Superfund site, we’re back to the perennial and even messier topic of the proposed cleanup plan.
The Nov. 2 meeting held in Greenpoint with Dr. Peter deFur, the community’s technical consultant, was an opportunity for local residents to ask questions about the toxic contamination in the soil and groundwater.
DeFur assured residents: “Your presence and your voice will make a difference…I have seen examples of where the community voice is an important determinate and changes the outcome.”
The moment of truth involved an array of toxins that have been detected at low levels at the NuHart test wells, including benzene, but deFur posited that they are not a major concern for most Greenpointers.
