United States
                  Environmental Protection
                  Agency
                           Solid Waste and
                           Emergency Response
                           (5502G)
                                               EPA520-F-92-009
                                                     Fall 1992
 & EPA     Su pertu nd At  Work
                  Hazardous Waste Cleanup Efforts Nationwide
  American Thermostat
 Site Description:
 Former thermostat assembly plant in
 South Cairo, New York
 Site Size: Approximately 8 acres
 Primary Contaminants:
 Volatile organic compounds (VOCs),
 other organic compounds, arsenic,
 chromium, and lead
 Potential Range of Health Risks
 Without EPA Cleanup:
 Liver, kidney, circulatory system,
 central nervous system damage; direct
 contact with contaminated soil, or
 ingestion of contaminated ground water
 could cause cancer
 Nearby Population Affected:
 5,000 within a 3-mile radius
 Ecological Concerns:
 Contamination of nearby Catskill Creek
 and a local pond
 Year Listed on NPL: 1983
 EPA Region: II
 State:  New York
 Congressional District: 2
   Innovative Air Stripping Technique for Ground Water
Pressurized air
pumped through soil
into ground water
Volatile organic
compounds and
other contaminants
trapped in air
bubbles
Success In Brief

EPA Mobilizes to Safeguard

Community and Eliminate

Chemical Waste

  EPA's Superfund program decisively mitigated dangerously high
levels of toxic chemicals at New York's American Thermostat
Corporation (ATC) hazardous waste site. Superfund staff:
  •  Quickly sampled area drinking wells and treated over
     10 million gallons of contaminated ground water;
  •  Used innovative technologies to reduce on-site soil and
     ground water contamination;
  •  Secured a permanent alternate water supply for affected
     residents; and
  •  Initiated a public outreach effort which gained support
     for cleanup activities.
  The American Thermostat site is a prime example of EPA's
commitment to preserve the health and welfare of citizens and
the environment.
The Site Today
  Cleanup has reduced the threat of exposure to site contaminants.
Monitoring wells, carbon treatment units, vapor extraction and air
                             stripping systems have been
                             installed. Over 10 million gallons of
                             contaminated ground water have
                             been treated. Volatile organic com-
                             pound (VOC) levels have been
                             reduced by over 80% in adjacent
                             wells, and the ATC well shows a
                             90% decrease of VOCs.  Cleanup
                             construction is underway. Comple-
                             tion of the alternate water supply is
                             scheduled for December 1992.
                             Cleanup plans for polluted soil and
                             sediments are currently being final-
                             ized, and should be officially re-
                             leased by October 1992.
                           U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                           Region 5, Library  (PL-12J)
                           77 West Jackson Boulevard, 12th Floor
                           Chicago, IL 60604-3590
Air bubbles carrying
contaminants
removed, decreasing
ground water
contamination

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                  Superfund At Work
    American Thermostat, South Cairo, NY
Fall 1992
                 A Site Snapshot
  The American Thermostat
Corporation (ATC) hazardous
waste site is located in South
Cairo, New
York. The site
borders a
popular tourist
and light
residential area.
  Private
homes are located
near the site's eastern and
western boundaries, and
approximately 5,000 people live
within a three-mile radius of
the site.
  Operations in the former as-
sembly plant took place in one
large building; machine oils,
lubricants, and solvents were
utilized in the assembly process.
Pollution from plant operations
has been found in the soil, ground
water, and another plant building.
-JS6C
  Waste chemical sludges con-
taining volatile organic com-
pounds (VOCs) were disposed of
                directly into
                abandoned
                septic systems
                and dumped
                on-site. Asa
                result, ground
                water and
drinking water in the vicinity were
contaminated.
  Catskill Creek, which is classi-
fied as a trout stream and located
less than one-quarter of a mile east
of the site, was sampled in early
1980 but showed no evidence of
contamination.
  Eating, drinking or coming into
direct contact with ground water
or soil contaminated with VOCs
could adversely affect the liver,
kidneys, or central nervous system,
and increases the risk of cancer.
                                     The America]
                                     Corporate Ne
  Improper Dumping Practices
  Led to Extensive Contaminat

    Between 1954 and 1985, AT
  produced thermostats for sma
  appliances at the South Cairo
  site. In March 1981, two ATC
  employees were observed dui
  ing sludge and solvents onto t
  plant parking lot.
    This triggered immediate
  investigations into the
  company's waste handling
  practices by the New York Sta
  Department of Environmental
  Conservation (NYSDEC) and
 American Thermostat
 Site Timeline
                                 • Site listed on National Priorities List
                              • NYSDEC orders polluter to clean up site
                                  • Polluter installs new septic system
                                  and carbon filtration for discharges
                      • ATC installs carbon filters on affected wells 4
                                           • ATC discovered dumping wastes by NYSDEC
                                          • ATC provides bottled water to affected residents
                                               1 Superfund legislation passed
                    Improper disposal of hazardous wastes at
                        tnermostat manufacturing facility
    1954
                                     1980   1981    1982   1983
                                         Page 2

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                           Superfund At Work
                       American Thermostat, South Cairo, NY
                                                                        Fall 1992
liermostat Story:
igence Leads to  Soil and Drinking Water Contamination
                             MJOr
New York State Attorney General's
Office. Findings revealed a high level
of VOC contamination over approxi-
mately 16 million
gallons of ground water
on and near the site.
Subsequently, water
samples collected in        ,,  „",
five privately-owned      i r «Cs,,,
wells in the ATC vicin-   , ; r *.
ity revealed high levels    "",,. 4,.
ofVOCs.               —w***^**
  The primary threat to
area residents was in the water
supply. Therefore, the local health
department immediately advised
 affected residents not to drink or cook
 with their well water. As a result,
 ATC began supplying bottled water
                to local residents in
                April 1981. By late
                1982, ATC had
                installed carbon
                filters on its own
                well and the af-
                fected residential
                wells. The polluters,
^^^^^^^  ATCandAMRO
                Realty Corporation,
 agreed under state orders to clean up
 the site and its surroundings, supply
 bottled water for cooking and drink-
                                             ,1", I
                                             ai ion
                                                    ing purposes, and install, monitoi
                                                    and maintain carbon filter system
                                                    for the five affected homes. In Jut
                                                    1983, ATC installed a new on-site
                                                    4,500 gallon septic system and, in
                                                    September 1983, the company
                                                    provided carbon filtration for sep
                                                    system discharges to lower VOC
                                                    levels. However, when ATC ceas
                                                    operations and filed involuntary
                                                    bankruptcy in May 1985, they als<
                                                    stopped providing bottled water
                                                    and maintaining the carbon filter
                                                    systems in the affected homes.
           Polluter files bankruptcy, ceases cleanup efforts
           EPA samples area wells, installs new and maintains
           existing carbon filtration units
                           Soil cleanup design completed
                                         Plan issued to address all
                                         contamination
                                               Alternate water supply
                                               design completed
                                               Ground water design begins
                                                      Site cleanup
                                                      complete
                                                      (planned)
                                                      Actions begin to
                                                      connect alternate
                                                      water supply
                                                      Soil and sediment
                                                      treatment begins
                                                   On-going ground
                                                   water monitoring
     1985
1988
                                 1990   1991    1992
                                1994
                                                  Page 3

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                     Superfund At Work
        American Thermostat, South Cairo, NY
                 Fall 1992
                          EPA Protects Citizens
                          and the Environment
                    at American Thermostat Site
   The site was listed on the
National Priorities List (NPL)
in September 1983. The NPL is
EPA's list of the nation's worst
abandoned hazardous waste
sites eligible for cleanup under
the Superfund program.
   At the request of New York
state, EPA took charge of the
situation in June 1985 and
  to

began sampling private wells
on an ongoing basis. To reduce
contamination levels in tiie
water, EPA installed two new
carbon filtration units on
private wells, and began main-
tenance on previously installed
units. Operation of the carbon
units has reduced the potential
for exposure to high concentra-
tions of contaminants in resi-
dent wells.
  EPA also installed an air
stripping system on two highly
contaminated wells. (See
diagram on page 1.)
   The innovative
air stripping units
were developed by
an EPA specialist,
and have been
extremely success-
ful in reducing the
level of contami-
nants in the ground
water.  While
cleaning the
ground water, the
air stripping system
creates a barrier to
prevent further
migration of con-
taminants, and EPA
continuously monitors these
systems.
   Despite these effective, short-
term measures, it was evident that
local residents required a perma-
nent alternative drinking water
source. Recognizing this, EPA
formalized their plan in 1988 to
permanently provide drinking
water after receiving comments
from local residents.
   The plan called for an extension
of the Village of Catskill's water
district to approximately 43 af-
fected properties. The Village
owned the water supply and
initially refused to supply the
water, claiming the extra 43 resi-
dences would  strain the water
capacity.
     The Search for Alternate Water
Locating a permanent drinking
water source for South Cairo
was difficult. Nearby Catskill was
selected, and following negotiations,
an agreement was reached. The
water system construction is underway;
completion is set for December 1992.
              In October 1991, following
           three years of complex negotia-
           tions with the Village of
           Catskill, interested local citizen
           groups and the New York
           state government, EPA and the
           Village finally signed an
           agreement for the extension of
           water lines. Design of the
           alternate water supply plan
           was completed in September
           1991, and construction is
           scheduled for completion in
           December 1992.
                                            Page 4

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                    Superfund At Work
     American Thermostat, South Cairo, NY
    Fall 1992
    EPA Solicits

    Community

       Support
    In light of the initial skepti-
 cism residents expressed over
 the feasibility of connecting to
 the new water supply, EPA
 undertook a public outreach
 effort through letters, tele-
 phone calls, and public
 meetings to reflect public
 concerns and suggestions in
 the water extension plan. As
 a result, over 90% of the
 residents affected by the
 ground water contamination
 now support EPA's plan and
 have signed letters requesting
 that their homes be connected
 to the new water supply.
    The extension of the water
 lines will provide a perma-
 nent and reliable source of
 water to residents, and pre-
 vent exposure to contami-
 nated ground water.
EPA Makes Commitment to
Long-Term Cleanup
  In June 1990, a separate plan     1991; initial work began at that
was formally released to the
public that involved the cleanup
of all remaining contamination at
the site. Specifically, the plan
called for cleanup of the affected
soil, ground water and pollution
inside the assembly plant build-
ing. The most contaminated solid
and waste materials were exca-
vated and treated by heating
them at low temperatures (400° C)
until the wastes evaporated into
gases. A vapor extraction system
then collected the gases.
  The on-site building is sched-
uled for decontamination via
vacuuming and dusting of con-
taminated surfaces. Eighteen
waste-oil drums stored in the
building and contaminated with
hazardous waste materials will
receive off-site treatment and be
disposed at an EPA-approved
facility, along with sludge wastes
from drain pits inside the build-
ing.  The building cleanup plans
were completed in September
        Soil Decontamination At American Thermostat
  Excavated soil
  moved to
  treatment facility
                  Vapor extraction
                  system collects
n                  contaminants
                  from gases
                     Contaminated soil heated to
                     400°C until volatile
                     contaminants evaporate
                                                 Decontaminated
                                                 soil returned to
                                                 excavated area
  As knowledge about hazardous wastes has grown, the EPA has developed several
methods for soil decontamination. Based on the type of contamination at the American
Thermostat site, the soil was treated with a low-temperature heat to evaporate the
volatile organic compounds.
time.
  Treatment of the ground water,
however, will require a compre-
hensive management and mainte-
nance program to ensure the
effectiveness of the treatment
system. The ground water will be
treated using filtration, air strip-
ping, and carbon absorption.
Afterwards, the treated water will
be re-injected on-site.
   Ground water cleanup will
begin in the summer of 1993. The
scheduled ground water treat-
ment period is estimated to last
approximately 30 years. Ground
water cleanup is estimated at $26
million, including an annual
operations and maintenance cost
of $1.3 million for 30 years.
   Contaminated sediments from
a residential pond adjacent to the
site are scheduled to be excavated
and treated concurrently with the
soil. The treated soil and sedi-
ments will then be returned to the
excavated areas, and the surface
will be covered with clean soil.
Any remaining contaminated soil
or sediments that pose health
risks will be disposed off-site at
an EPA-approved facility.
   Source control cleanup designs
have been completed and imple-
mentation will begin by the end
of 1992. Only treated soils and
sediments with contaminants
            continued on back page
                                            Page 5

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                    Superfund At Work
American Thermostat, South Cairo, NY
    Fall 1992
Commitment

to Long-Term

Cleanup
continued from page 5

well below established safety
levels will be re-deposited. After
the soil and sediments are
treated, extensive long-term
management and monitoring
will not be required. The total
soil cleanup cost is $3 million,
with operations and mainte-
nance costs of $100,000 per year.
  If you wish to be added to our mailing list
  or to comment on this bulletin's content,
          length or format,
       please call (703) 603-8984
         or send a letter to
      Superfund At Work (5502G),
 401 M Street SW, Washington, DC  20460.
                Success at
     American Thermostat
  By promptly addressing
the immediate threats to the
public from contaminated
drinking water, the Super-
fund program gained the
confidence of citizens ad-
versely affected by contami-
nation at the hazardous
waste site.
  EPA was quick to re-
spond to environmental
concerns, and conducted
comprehensive cleanup
actions to mitigate imminent
and potential threats.
Public participation in
selecting cleanup remedies
was encouraged, and over
90% of the community is
satisfied with the new water
supply plan.
  EPA's efforts have been
successful in decreasing the
risk of soil and ground water
contamination from volatile
organic compounds.
Although cleanup activities
will continue until 1994,
the potential for exposure to
site contaminants for area
residents has been largely
eliminated.
      For additional copies of this or other Superfund At Work updates,
contact the National Technical Information Service, U.S. Department of Commerce,
   5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161, telephone (703) 487-4650.
5-EPA
 United States Environmental Protection Agency
 5502G
 Washington, D.C. 20460

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