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Greenpoint: Even More Polluted Than You Thought!
By
Sabrina Jaszi
Published Feb 16, 2010
Modified Feb 16, 2010
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By
Sabrina Jaszi
Published Feb 16, 2010
Modified Feb 16, 2010
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Testing of Greenpoint's groundwater has revealed contamination by dry cleaning chemical, with alarmingly high levels found under the corner of Kingsland and Norman Avenues, right by McGolrick Park. Investigators started testing the area in 2008, and despite resistance from homeowners, they traced the pollutants and are naming names: They say former businesses in the area, including Spic and Span Cleaners, Klink Cosmo Cleaners, and current businesses ACME Metal Works and ACME Steel and Brass Foundry are to blame. But what's a Greenpointer to do?
The agency continues to sample Greenpoint air and soil, to confirm the neighborhood isn't at risk, reports the Brooklyn Paper. According to Mike Schade, a local resident and coordinator at the Center for Health and Environmental Justice, the contaminated water can vaporize and rise into people's homes, but it's nothing new. “The state estimated that [the new site] has been contaminating the groundwater there for 60 to 70 years!” he said, adding that. “Given the depth and type of soil, this will be a challenge to clean up.” He believes the state will fund cleanup efforts, and then sue the culprits for the cost, but officials haven't confirmed that plan.
The discovery follows Mayor Bloomberg's recent announcement that he'll back the area's oil slick and sludgy waterway, the Newtown Creek, for Superfund designation.
Tagged
acme steelworks
bloomberg
brooklyn
contamination
Dry cleaning
greenpoint
groundwater
mike schade
newtown creek
pollution
Sabrina Jaszi
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