NPL Site Narrative for Cross County
Sanitation Landfill

CROSS COUNTY SANITATION LANDFILL
Patterson, New York

The Cross County Sanitation Landfill is a 6.4-acre inactive landfill that operated from 1963 to 1974 and
accepted municipal and industrial wastes. Some of the wastes were burned on site, and the residue was
deposited in the landfill with the unaltered wastes. The landfill is bordered to the east by the Great Swamp
of Patterson.

Numerous inspections of the landfill during the years of operation indicated refuse was dumped in the
swamp and at the water's edge. An inspection conducted in January 1974 reported a powdery material
and 20 drums were disposed of in the swamp. On April 11, 1976, the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) observed a bright orange leachate pool on the northern side of
the landfill flowing through a culvert toward Muddy Brook, and a large "red mass" on the northern side of
the landfill that had reportedly adversely affected local swamp flora and fauna. Leachate seeping from the
landfill and discharging into the adjacent wetland areas of the Great Swamp was also noted in 1983. At
that time, 40 to 60 partially exposed drums were also noted.

Leachate samples were collected from obvious, active seeps on the northeastern and eastern slope of the
landfill within the wetlands of the Great Swamp in March 1992, as part of a 1992 remedial investigation.
Results indicated the presence of benzene, toluene, chlorobenzene, PCBs, and xylenes. Results of
an aqueous sample collected from a corroding drum indicated the presence of 1,1,1-trichloroethane,
4-methyl-2-pentanone, toluene, and xylene. Analytical results of a refuse soil sample from the landfill
indicated the presence of PCBs. Surface water sample results document the contamination of the Great
Swamp of Patterson.

In 1993-1994 NYSDEC conducted a drum removal at the site as part of an interim remedial measure. Over
100 55-gallon drums were removed from a series of four drum nests located along the eastern border of
the landfill. The drums contained PCBs, xylene, and toluene. Results of a soil sample collected from within
one of the drum nests indicated the presence of PCBs.

For more information about the hazardous substances identified in this narrative summary, including
general information regarding the effects of exposure to these substances on human health, please see
the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQs. ATSDR ToxFAQs can be
found on the Internet at ATSDR - ToxFAQs (http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/index.asp) or by telephone
at 1-888-42-ATSDR or 1-888-422-8737.

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