PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT
HOOKER CHEMICAL/RUCO POLYMER
HICKSVILLE, NASSAU COUNTY, NEW YORK
The Hooker Chemical/Ruco Polymer (Hooker/Ruco) site, which is on the National Priorities List of hazardous waste sites, is on New South Road, Hicksville, Nassau County. The site is an active synthetic polymer plant on 17 acres in an industrial area. Plastics, polyesters and other synthetic polymers have been manufactured on site. Manufacturing of these chemicals began in 1945, however, no plastics have been manufactured on-site since 1982.
On-site soils at the Hooker/Ruco site are contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), specifically the PCB known as Aroclor 1248. This contamination is limited in area, is in a location removed from most workers, and was the subject of a removal action completed in August 1992. Approximately 3,000,000 pounds of soil contaminated with PCBs at concentrations above 10 parts per million were disposed of off-site. However, based on the past exposure by employees of Hooker/Ruco to these PCB contaminated soils, the Hooker/Ruco site is considered a public health hazard. Under current site conditions the potential for worker exposure is minimal because the entire site is fenced and patrolled by a 24-hour security force, there is little potential for the public to be exposed to the PCB contaminated soils on-site. Institutional controls should be implemented as part of the final remedial action plan to keep this property limited to industrial use.
Although the information presently available suggests no human exposure to the groundwater contamination at the Hooker/Ruco site is or will occur, the contribution of the Hooker/Ruco site to the contamination of groundwater in this area needs to be further defined. This is important since groundwater is the sole source of potable water in this heavily populated area. Because of the need for additional data, the site currently presents an indeterminate health hazard.
The Hooker/Ruco site is one of several industrial facilities in the Hicksville area that have contributed to contamination of groundwater. Groundwater, primarily the Magothy Aquifer, is the sole source of potable water. Bethpage, Hicksville and Levittown Water District supply wells are downgradient of the site. The potential effects on these wells from the Hooker/Ruco site are undetermined. One of the Bethpage Water District Supply wells has been fitted with a treatment system to remove low levels of volatile organic chemicals.
Grumman Aerospace Corporation operates a large industrial facility on the eastern border of the Hooker/Ruco site. Groundwater downgradient of the Grumman site and Hooker/Ruco is contaminated. Grumman also has production wells on-site which affect groundwater flow and has captured contamination, some of which may have originated from the Hooker/Ruco site.
Local residents have expressed concern about the affect of this site and the Grumman Aerospace Corporation site on their water supplies. These concerns have included what effect this contamination could have on their health and who will pay for remediation, if needed, of affected water supplies. All public water supplies in New York State are regulated by the New York State Department of Health (NYS DOH) and are required to demonstrate that the water provided meets New York State and federal standards.
NYS DOH has recommended that the contribution of contamination from the Hooker/Ruco site to the regional groundwater contamination be further studied. This includes further monitoring of potable water supplies located hydrogeologically downgradient of the site. Based on the findings of this work, remedies may be needed. Additionally, further evaluation of air release from the Hooker/Ruco facility is recommended. Institutional controls should be implemented to restrict changes in site usage including residential development.
The data and information evaluated in the public health assessment for the Hooker Chemical/Ruco Polymer, Hicksville, New York, have been reviewed by ATSDR's Health Activities Recommendations Panel for appropriate follow-up with respect to health actions. Because of concerns of the occurrence of adverse health effects in the community, the panel determined that follow-up health actions are indicated. Specifically, the panel determined that community health education is necessary to address these concerns.
The Public Health Action Plan calls for the Hooker/Ruco site to be included in a study of regional groundwater quality. Monitoring of community drinking water supplies continues as mandated by the NYS DOH. The NYS DOH has requested that the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) include institutional controls in the final remedial plan for the Hooker/Ruco site. NYS DOH, in conjunction with the NYS DEC, will further evaluate the effect of chemical emissions from the TRI reporting facilities on local ambient air. The NYS DOH has provided, and will provide, education to the community to address their health concerns.
In cooperation with the New York State Department of Health (NYS DOH), the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) will evaluate the public health significance of this site. More specifically, ATSDR and NYS DOH will determine whether health effects are possible and will recommend actions to reduce or prevent possible health effects. ATSDR, located in Atlanta, Georgia, is a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is authorized by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Action of 1980 to conduct public health assessments at hazardous waste sites.
A. Site Description and History
The Hooker/Ruco Polymer site, which is on the National Priorities List (NPL) of hazardous waste sites, is on New South Road, Hicksville, Nassau County, New York. The site is an active synthetic polymers plant on 17 acres in an industrial park area of Hicksville. The area is highly urbanized with industrial and residential areas mixed (Figure 1). All Figures and Tables for this report are in Appendix A and Appendix B, respectively.
The Hooker/Ruco site is part of a large commercially zoned area surrounded by residential areas in Hicksville, Town of Oyster Bay. Adjacent to the eastern and southern border of the site is a large industrial complex owned and operated by the Grumman Aerospace Corporation and the United States Navy, to the west within 500 feet are residential neighborhoods and the Long Island Railroad, and to the north are smaller commercial properties.
The Hooker/Ruco site was developed first by Rubber Corporation of America, which is a small privately held company. Operations at the site began in 1945 and included handling and storage of natural rubber latex. In 1950, small volumes of plasticizers were produced on-site. In 1956, a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant was built and PVC was produced on-site until 1975. Hooker Chemical Company Corporation purchased the facility in 1965, and operated the facility as the Ruco Division. Hooker Chemical Company is now known as Occidental Chemical Company. In 1982, the plant was bought by employees of Ruco Polymer Corporation and it is operated as a private corporation under the name Ruco Polymer Corporation.
On-site disposal of liquid waste through sand sumps occurred from 1951 to 1975. Wastes from on-site manufacturing processes were disposed in the sand sumps. Two main groups of sumps were used, one group of three sumps for Plant 1 and another group of three sumps for Plant 2 (see Figure 2). Additionally, accidental releases of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) contaminated oils from Pilot Plant 1 to on-site soils occurred. PCBs from the contaminated soils then travelled with rainwater into the sand sumps.
The Plant 1 sumps which are numbered 1 and 2, formerly received waste water containing mixed glycols and alcohols. The waste water also included tetrachloroethene, methanol, and organic acids such as adipic, trimellitic, maleic, and phthalic. These sumps were in operation from 1951 to 1975, though the total amounts of waste discharged are unknown. The Plant 2 sumps are number 4, 5 and 6. Sumps 5 and 6 have been backfilled and no longer exist.
Currently, only non-contact cooling water is discharged in sump 4. From 1975 to the Spring of 1990, a concrete settling basin has been used to store ester wastes prior to being incinerated on-site. Since 1990, process wastewater is now stored in permitted, above-ground storage tanks. Hazardous wastes are stored in drums on-site until they are disposed at a permitted, off-site, facility.
A pilot plant located between Plant 1 and 2 used a heat transfer fluid which contained PCBs. During the operation of the facility, PCBs were released to the soil next to the pilot plant. Some of this contaminated soil was spread to surrounding areas by surface water runoff and truck traffic.
In 1979, 700 drums of wastes were stored on-site near Plant 1. These drums contained miscellaneous chemical wastes and were all moved off-site in 1979 for proper disposal. This area is a staging area for wastes being disposed off-site.
The site was placed on the NPL in 1984. Initially, negotiations by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) failed to reach a settlement with the potentially responsible parties (Occidental Chemical Corporation and Ruco Polymer) to conduct a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) for the site. Therefore, US EPA had Ebasco Services, Inc., prepare a work plan for the RI/FS. In September 1988, after the work plan was finalized, Occidental Chemical Corporation, the previous owner of the site, agreed to perform the work. In September 1989, RI/FS field work started and was completed in February 1990; a draft RI report was submitted in April 1990. A FS report specific to the PCB contaminated soils was submitted in June 1990. A Record of Decision (ROD) specific to the PCB soil contamination near the Pilot Plant was issued in September 1990. The excavation of the PCB contaminated soil was completed in August of 1992.
In June 1988, a Preliminary Health Assessment was issued for the site; it was prepared by the NYS DOH under a cooperative agreement with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).
Regional Environmental Investigations
Groundwater contamination by solvents near the Hooker/Ruco site has been investigated extensively. The Bethpage, Levittown and Hicksville Water Districts, use wells that are hydrogeologically downgradient of the Hooker/Ruco, Navy Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant (NWIRP), and Grumman Aerospace sites. In 1986, a cooperative study of the Bethpage area was done by the Nassau County Department of Health (NC DOH) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Organic chemicals were found in the shallow aquifer (Upper Glacial) and deep aquifer (Magothy) beneath the Grumman site. The contaminants are chlorinated solvents, especially trichloroethene.
An initial assessment study of the Navy Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant in Bethpage was conducted in 1986. Three areas were identified as a potential threat to human health and/or the environment. In May 1992 a final RI report was prepared which recommended that groundwater contamination be investigated further.
Grumman Aerospace Corporation has sampled groundwater in the area since the late 1970's. In 1992, Grumman Corporation submitted an RI to the NYS DEC. The field work for the RI was conducted in 1991. Grumman Aerospace installed two air-stripper treatment systems, one on a production well on-site and one at Bethpage Water District Supply Plant Number 6. Grumman is funding a third treatment system, which will be installed at Bethpage Water District Supply Plant Number 4. Grumman Aerospace Corporation is installing a system of groundwater monitoring wells for use as a warning system for the Bethpage Water District Supply Plants 4 and 5.
B. Actions Implemented During the Public Health Assessment Process
Bethpage Water District is continuing a monitoring program of its wellfields downgradient of the site. One Bethpage Water District wellfield has been fitted with a treatment system because of low levels of trichloroethene contamination.
The Hooker/Ruco site has been visited by local, state and federal government representatives investigating the site. In 1985, 1990 and June 1992, New York State Department of Health (NYS DOH) staff visited the Hooker/Ruco site. Lloyd Wilson and Mark VanValkenburg visited the site in June 1992 to prepare this public health assessment.
The area surrounding the Hooker/Ruco site is comprised of an industrial corridor and residential developments. There are many small industries, commercial operations, residential areas, utilities, transportation corridors, and storm water basins in the area. Grumman Aerospace Corporation's Bethpage manufacturing facility, which is a very large industrial facility, is on the eastern border of the Hooker/Ruco Polymer site. Figures 1 and 2 show area-wide and site-specific features.
About 100 employees work on-site and site access is restricted. The entire perimeter of the site is fenced and access to the site is through a gate which is maintained by a 24-hour security force.
At the time of the June 1992 visit, PCB contaminated soils next to the Pilot Plant were being excavated and staged on-site prior to proper off-site disposal.
D. Demographics, Land Use and Natural Resource Use
The Hooker/Ruco site is on a 17-acre tract of land off of New South Road in Hicksville, a portion of the Town of Oyster Bay. Bordering to the south are tracks of the Long Island Railroad. East of the site is the 700 acre Grumman Aerospace facility, of which 100 acres is owned and operated by the U.S. Navy and is known as the Navy Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant (NWIRP). Commercial and industrial facilities are north of the site. A residential area is west of the site across New South Road. The site is relatively flat with a gentle slope towards the south.
The population within one-mile of the site, based on 1980 census data, is about 22,000 people. The site is on a commercial corridor running from the northwest to the southeast, roughly following the Long Island Railroad tracks. Residential areas surround this industrial corridor.
The 1980 median age for Hicksville is 32.1 years for males and 35.4 years for females; this is above the national average by about 3 to 4 years. Census data for Hicksville have projected an aging population with the medium ages for males and females to be 35 and 39 for 1989, 37 to 40 for 1994, respectively. Census estimates for 1989 predict 55 percent of the population to be within 15 to 54 years with an equal sex distribution.
The industrial characteristics for the Hicksville area are chiefly manufacturing, trade, and service related industries. Prior land use planning on Long Island placed commercial and industrial facilities in the mid-island area near transportation networks. The sole source aquifers are recharged in this area where a large number of contaminant sources associated with past and present industrial activities are likely contributing to the degradation of groundwater resources.
The nearest public water supply wells for the Hicksville Water District are 900 meters west; wells for the Bethpage Water District are 3,100 meters southeast. Grumman Aerospace maintains a number of non-potable production wells for non-contact cooling and other industrial purposes. Summer use by Grumman has been as high as 14 million gallons per day while winter use is about 3 million gallons per day.
Groundwater on a regional basis is described as flowing in a south-southeast direction at this site. However, the cones of influence from the various public water supply wells and privately owned production wells, especially production wells at Grumman Aerospace, affect local groundwater flow. This effect will vary according to the seasonal rates of pumpage for these supply wells.
The Upper Glacial formation on-site exists from the land surface to about 50 feet below land surface and is not saturated with water. The Magothy Aquifer is from about 50 feet below ground surface to over 600 feet below ground surface. In general, the municipal water supply wells in the area of Hooker/Ruco draw water from the deeper regions (>500 feet below ground surface) of the Magothy Aquifer.
The New York State Department of Health maintains several health outcome data bases which could be used to generate site specific data if warranted. These data bases include the cancer registry, congenital malformations registry, heavy metals registry, occupational lung disease registry, birth and death certificates, and hospital discharge records. To date NYS DOH has not evaluated health outcome data specific for the Hooker/Ruco site.
A community health survey specific to the Hooker/Ruco Polymer site
has not been conducted. However, in 1989, NYS DOH completed a
study on the incidence of breast cancer for residents of Long
Island, New York. The results of this study are discussed in the
Health Outcome Data Evaluation section of this report.
During public meetings held in December 1990 and June 1992 for the remedial investigations at the NWIRP and Grumman sites, citizens expressed concerns about potential health effects of these two sites and the Hooker/Ruco site. Their concern was focused on three issues: the contamination of groundwater, PCB as a causative agent for breast cancer, and odors. Citizens immediately west of Hooker/Ruco have complained about odors which they attributed to the site. The community health concerns are addressed in the Community Health concerns section of this report.
The public was invited to review the public health assessment during a public comment period between March 31, 1993 to May 3, 1993. The response to comments received are presented in Appendix C.
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