PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT
ONONDAGA LAKE
SYRACUSE, ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK
SUMMARY
The Onondaga Lake site is described as Onondaga Lake and any source that may be contributing
to its contamination (e.g., hazardous waste sites discharging contaminants directly or indirectly
via surface or groundwater into Onondaga Lake). The United States Environmental Protection
Agency has entered into a cooperative agreement with the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation to produce a comprehensive site-wide remedial
investigation/feasibility study, which will include a site-wide risk assessment. For the purposes
of this public health assessment, the site is considered as Onondaga Lake and the surrounding
shoreline. As more data become available on Onondaga Lake and subsites that may be
contributing to contamination in the lake, an update of this public health assessment may be
warranted.
Onondaga Lake is in the City of Syracuse and the Towns of Geddes and Salina in Onondaga
County. The lake is surrounded by parks, industrial sites, waste beds and tar beds. The site is
contaminated with many chemicals, including mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs),
petroleum hydrocarbons, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Potential sources for
some of the chemical contaminants include the petroleum storage facilities (Oil City) which may
be contaminating the lake sediment; the tar beds which are releasing compounds into the air that
can be detected up to three miles away; and mercury, which enters the lake primarily from
Ninemile Creek and the wastewater treatment plant. In addition, the lake is contaminated with
fecal bacteria.
Recommendations for the site include further studies to identify the source(s) and extent of some
contaminants, use of controls to reduce the amount of mercury and fecal contamination entering
the lake, and the reduction of odors from the tar beds.
As part of past public health actions taken to prevent possible human exposures to contaminants
in the lake, the New York State Department of Health (NYS DOH) has issued advisories about
fish and wildlife consumption and no approvals have been given for operating public beaches on
the lake shore.
Based on the information reviewed, the Onondaga Lake site is a public health hazard. Fish from
the site are contaminated with mercury and PCBs at levels which have a high risk of adverse
health effects. In the past, people eating fish from Onondaga Lake were most likely exposed to
mercury and PCBs. The NYS DOH has issued an advisory recommending that no fish from
Onondaga Lake be eaten. Some reports suggest that limited fishing may be occurring. In
addition, fecal contamination of the lake continues to be a problem, especially during combined
sewer overflows. The presence of fecal bacteria is an indicator of potential contamination by
other microorganisms that can produce disease. Fecal bacterial contamination of the lake poses a
potential health hazard to recreational users, particularly swimmers. Swimming in the lake is
minimized since the NYS DOH has not permitted any public beaches along the shoreline of the
lake. Because the primary routes of exposure to site-related contaminants are due to recreational
activities at the lake, it is difficult to estimate the number of persons actually exposed. However,
ATSDR and NYS DOH estimate that 216,682 persons are potentially exposed to site-related
contaminants. This estimate, based on the 1990 census, is the total populations of the Towns of
Salina and Geddes and the City of Syracuse bordering Onondaga Lake.
The health activities recommendation panel at the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry has reviewed this public health assessment to determine appropriate follow-up actions.
The NYS DOH will continue community health education to the affected populations, including
annual reviews and updates to the fish and game consumption advisories, as needed. The NYS
DOH will evaluate measures to notify the public about the possible health risks associated with
eating fish from Onondaga Lake. The NYS DOH will review additional data that are developed
as part of on-going investigations of Onondaga Lake. If warranted, the NYS DOH will complete
additional follow-up health activities based on these reviews.
A. Site Description and History
Onondaga Lake was proposed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA)
for listing on the National Priorities List (NPL) on May 10, 1993. The Onondaga Lake site is
described as Onondaga Lake and any source that may be contributing to its contamination (e.g.,
hazardous waste sites discharging contaminants directly or indirectly via surface water or
groundwater into Onondaga Lake). The US EPA has entered into a cooperative agreement with
the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) to produce a
comprehensive site-wide remedial investigation/feasibility study, which will include a site-wide
risk assessment. This health assessment is being prepared, in part, in response to health concerns
expressed by a former resident who lived near the lake. For the purposes of this preliminary
public health assessment (PHA), the site is considered to be Onondaga Lake and the surrounding
shoreline. As more data become available on Onondaga Lake and subsites that may be
contributing to contamination in the lake, an update of this PHA may be warranted.
Onondaga Lake borders the City of Syracuse, the Towns of Salina and Geddes, and the Village
of Liverpool in Onondaga County, New York (Figure 1, Appendix A). The lake is about 4.5
miles long and 1 mile wide, with an average depth of 38 feet and maximum depth of about 67
feet. Seven major tributaries flow into the lake, including Ninemile Creek, Onondaga Creek, Ley
Creek, Harbor Brook, Bloody Brook, Sawmill Creek, and Tributary 5A. Water flows out of the
lake via the Seneca River, part of the Barge Canal System, at the northwest end. The land
bordering the lake consists principally of county parks (including Longbranch and Onondaga
Lake Parks), a marina, industrial properties, commercial properties, tar beds (Semet residue
ponds), waste beds (Solvay beds), wetlands, undeveloped brush land and highways (Figure 2,
Appendix A). There are several facilities which are listed on the NYS DEC registry of Inactive
Hazardous Waste Disposal Sites in New York State and may be sources of contamination to
Onondaga Lake including the Salina Town Landfill, the Onondaga Nation Barrel Site, McKesson
Environmental, the State Fair Landfill, the Syracuse China Landfill, Onondaga Lake Mercury
Sediments, Allied - Willis Avenue site, Ley Creek PCB Dredgings, Allied - Semet Residue
Ponds, Val's Dodge, General Motors (GM) - Fisher Guide Division, LCP Chemicals, Bristol
Labs, Crouse-Hinds, Quanta Resources, Crucible Steel - Syracuse Operation and the Clark
Property. Numerous petroleum storage facilities exist in the area known as Oil City immediately
south of the lake. Petroleum soil and groundwater contamination have occurred in the Oil City
area.
In the late 1800's and early 1900's, Onondaga Lake supported a resort industry based on
recreational use of the lake waters. By 1940, the lake was declared unsafe for swimming
(Onondaga Lake Management Conference, 1993). Swimming was banned by the New York
State Department of Health (NYS DOH) in the 1960's because of unsafe levels of bacteria.
Currently, there are no permitted public bathing beaches at Onondaga Lake because of bacterial
contamination and water clarity problems. Prior to 1900, the lake also supported a commercial
fishing industry with both cold and warm water fisheries. The lake was closed to public fishing
in 1970 due to mercury contamination in fish. In 1986, fishing in the lake was reopened, and the
NYS DOH issued a health advisory to eat no fish caught in Onondaga Lake or its tributaries to
the first barrier impassable to fish (Appendix C).
The area near Onondaga Lake has had an industrial presence since the late 1700's. The earliest
documented industry was a salt industry which operated from 1793 to 1908. Ice was harvested
from the lake for both public and commercial use prior to 1901, when it was banned because of
contamination. A large chemical industry (AlliedSignal, Inc. formerly Allied Chemical)
developed in the area, and included manufacturing of soda ash, bicarbonate of soda, chlorine,
benzene, toluene, xylenes, chlorinated benzenes, and naphthalene. Other industries present at
one time or another included a fertilizer plant, manufacturers of pottery, candle manufacturing,
vehicular accessories, steel, foundries, air conditioning, general appliances, electrical
manufacturing facilities, petroleum storage, scrap yards, municipal dumps, pharmaceuticals, and
transportation facilities.
Since the late 1800's, Onondaga Lake has received discharges of industrial and municipal waste.
Presently, the most significant industrial pollutants in the lake appear to be mercury and various
alkali wastes (e.g., chlorides, sodium and calcium). About 60 tons of mercury were discharged
to the lake from the chlor-alkali process. Recent sampling indicates that ongoing releases from
the closed LCP Chemical site (formerly operated by Allied Chemical) is responsible for a large
portion of mercury entering the lake. High levels of mercury in the west flume of the LCP
Chemical site drain into the lake via Geddes Brook and Ninemile Creek. About 100,000
tons/year of alkali wastes were released into the lake. These inorganic wastes increased salinity
and calcium levels in the lake which affected normal mixing and caused extensive calcite
precipitation. Other industrial pollutants including aromatic hydrocarbons, semi-volatile
hydrocarbons, solvents, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), have also been found in the lake.
Several Orders on Consent have been signed between AlliedSignal, Inc. or its predecessor(s) and
the NYS DEC regarding the waste beds, tar beds and groundwater contamination at the Willis
Avenue Plant. In addition, AlliedSignal, Inc. and the NYS DEC signed a consent decree
requiring a remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS) to determine the type and extent of
contamination in Onondaga Lake and identify alternatives for remediation.
Onondaga Lake has also received large volumes of raw sewage during most of this century.
Sewage was either discharged from tributaries or directly into the lake. In addition to bacterial
contamination, the sewage has caused severe eutrophication (i.e., increased mineral and organic
nutrients and decreased dissolved oxygen levels) of the lake which affects the behavior of toxic
compounds in the water. Throughout the 1900's, municipal sewage treatment capabilities were
expanded. Currently, the Onondaga County Metropolitan Syracuse Wastewater Treatment Plant
(Metro) has a tertiary treatment capability of 120 million gallons per day (mgd). When
combined stormwater and sewage flow exceeds 120 mgd, the incremental flow above 120 mgd
receives only primary treatment with chlorination before it is discharged into the lake. Until
1985, all combined sewer overflows (CSOs) entered the lake and tributaries directly. Since
1985, efforts have been undertaken to reduce CSOs; however, CSOs still occur about 50 times
per year (Onondaga Lake Management Conference, 1993). The Metro plant is also a significant
source for mercury entering the lake. A consent judgement directs Onondaga County to
complete planning, design and construction of facilities to bring discharges from the Metro
sewage treatment plant in compliance with regulatory requirements.
B. Actions Completed During the Public Health Assessment Process
The PHA process was initiated when the Onondaga Lake site was proposed for listing on the
NPL in May 1993. Since that time, actions that have occurred as part of the public health
assessment process include the following:
Robert Montione of the NYS DOH visited the site in April 1992 and Ron Heerkens of the NYS
DOH Syracuse Field Office has also visited the site on several occasions. In June 1994, Pat Fritz
and Daniel Luttinger of the NYS DOH accompanied Robert Montione and Ron Heerkens on a
visit to the site. Onondaga Lake borders the City of Syracuse. A portion of the City of Syracuse,
commercial enterprises, Allied Chemical, and extensive bulk petroleum facilities (Oil City)
dominate the southern shore. The lake is used for boating, crew races, wind-surfing, water skiing
and related recreational activities, as well as commercial inland shipping. The northwestern
shore is mostly open parkland and is used for boating, picnicking, hiking and other recreational
activities.
D. Demographics, Land Use, and Natural Resource Use
Demographics
The NYS DOH has estimated from the 1990 census that 216,682 people live in the Towns of
Salina and Geddes and the City of Syracuse bordering Onondaga Lake. Of this population,
80.5% is of the white race, 15.6% is of the black race, and 3.9% is of other races. Within the
three areas, 7.4% of the population is under 5 years of age, 22.2% is between 5 and 20 years of
age, 55% is 21-64 years of age and 15.4% is 65 years or older. The median household income
for the Town of Salina is $33,212, for the Town of Geddes, $30,957, and for the City of
Syracuse, $21,242. The percent of families below the poverty level for the Town of Salina is
2.2%, for the Town of Geddes, 4.1%, and for the City of Syracuse, 17%.
Land Use
A large portion of the shoreline, including most of the northern half of the shoreline, is parkland.
These areas are used for a wide variety of heavily attended special events as well as less formal
recreational activities. A county owned marina within the park is also frequently used. Railroad
tracks run along parts of the eastern shore of the lake. Commercial and industrial areas near
Onondaga Lake are concentrated along the south and southwest shores. Several extensive alkali
waste beds and tar beds are situated along and near the shoreline (Figure 3, Appendix A). The
waste beds along the shoreline occupy about 1,360 acres and are composed of inorganic salts
from the soda ash industry (Blasland, Bouck and Lee, 1989). The tar beds, which occupy about
22 acres, are composed of residue tars that were placed there by a former division of
AlliedSignal, Inc. that refined coke light oil via fractional distillation. In addition, there are
numerous hazardous waste sites in the region as well as petroleum contamination associated with
the Oil City area. Residential areas exist along the northeast and western shorelines, although no
residential property borders the lake shore.
Natural Resource Use
Onondaga Lake is classified by the NYS DEC as Class B surface waters, although some portions
of the lake are classified as Class C surface waters. The class system is used to identify best uses
of surface waters but does not necessarily mean that the lake currently meets the water quality
standards for Class B or C water. The best usage of Class B waters are bathing and any other
usages except drinking and food processing. The best usage of Class C waters are fishing and
any other usages except for bathing, drinking and food processing.
The lake is presently used for boating, waterfowl hunting, and fishing. The intensity of usage for
these activities is low. The lake is not considered suitable for swimming because of high
concentrations of fecal coliform and poor water clarity. Reportedly, however, people
occasionally swim in the lake. Within a three mile radius of the lake, it is estimated that about
700 people use shallow groundwater for drinking (NYS DEC, 1989). All of these groundwater
supplies are upgradient of the lake. There are no known public or private potable water intakes
in the lake. Syracuse relies on Skaneateles Lake as its primary drinking water supply but also
has interconnections with the Onondaga County Water Authority which uses Otisco Lake and
Lake Ontario. All are several miles away from Onondaga Lake. The Village of Liverpool and
the communities around the northern and western portions of Onondaga Lake use water provided
by the Onondaga County Water Authority.
The NYS DOH has not evaluated health outcome data specific for the Onondaga Lake site.
However, the NYS DOH maintains several health outcome data bases which could be used to
generate site-specific data, if warranted. These data bases include the cancer registry, the
congenital malformations registry, the heavy metals registry, the occupational lung disease
registry, vital records (birth and death) certificates, hospital discharge information and
water-related disease outbreak data. Two studies evaluating the incidence of cancer in Clay,
New York, and also in the Towns of VanBuren and Camillus, New York were conducted by the
NYS DOH (NYS DOH, 1985 and 1990). The findings of these studies are discussed in the
Public Health Implications section (subsection B, Health Outcome Data Evaluation) of this PHA.
Two other cancer incidence studies are currently in progress. One of the studies is being done
for the Town of Geddes and should be completed by 1996. The other study includes the Village
of North Syracuse and parts of the Town of Clay and the Town of Cicero. This study should be
completed by 1997.
In 1990, a resident who used to live near Onondaga Lake expressed concern about the incidence
of cancer among family members and others in the community of Lakeland, which borders
Onondaga Lake. This former resident expressed concern about past disposal practices by the
Allied Chemical Plant, which reportedly dumped wastes directly into the lake, and had health
concerns about the risk of developing cancer because of the nearby chemical plant.
In August 1994, the NYS DOH received an inquiry about the occurrence of cancer among people
living in Liverpool, a community within the Town of Salina which borders Onondaga Lake to
the northeast.
Other community health concerns have centered on: 1) recreational use of the lake including
swimming; 2) fishing and use of the shoreline; 3) odors emanating from the tar beds; and 4)
health effects from the Oil City rehabilitation efforts.
