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EPA Adds The Former Peter Cooper Corporations Site in Cattaraugus County, New York To The Superfund National Priorities List

Release Date: 04/22/1999
Contact Information: Mike Basile (716) 285-8842 / [email protected]

(#99059) NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)is proposing to add a hazardous waste site in Dayton, New York to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL), the federal list of the nation's most serious hazardous waste sites. The site consists of an inactive disposal area and other areas of contaminated soil where the former Peter Cooper Corporations (PCC) Markhams company once operated. The site accepted waste until 1972 from a former PCC glue factory in nearby Gowanda that EPA also proposed to the Superfund NPL last year. Soil testing by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and EPA found elevated levels of chromium, arsenic, zinc and volatile organic compounds at the Dayton site. The same contaminants have been found in a wetlands area on the site that is frequented by hunters of migratory waterfowl, and in shallow groundwater.

EPA periodically proposes sites to the NPL and designates proposed sites as final. Sites that are placed on the final NPL are eligible for long-term "remedial action" or cleanups financed under the Superfund Trust Fund. Proposed sites are investigated further to determine the extent of the risks they may pose to human health and the environment. With the addition of this site in Dayton, there are 86 federal Superfund NPL sites in New York State.

"The proposed listing of PCC means that EPA can complete an evaluation of the contamination and begin developing solutions to the problems caused by the site,"according to EPA Regional Administrator Jeanne M. Fox. "If those responsible for causing the contamination do not undertake an investigation into the extent and nature of the problem, the proposed listing will allow Superfund to pay for this work."

The NPL rule, which officially proposes the site listing, will be published tomorrow in the Federal Register. For members of the public interested in obtaining copies of the notice, an updated NPL list or site description, please contact the RCRA/Superfund Hotline at 1-800-424-9346 or 703-412-9810. Further information about the site and the Superfund program can also be obtained from EPA's homepage: www.epa.gov.superfund.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Reporters should contact Mike Basile for the above information.

For more information contact:
Mike Basile, Press Office
EPA Region 2 Niagara Field Office
345 third Street
Niagara Falls, NY 14303
Voice: 716-285-8842 FAX: 716-285-8788 E-Mail: [email protected]