Residents concerned over ithaca gun factory remediation

Ithaca, New York â€" Closed since the late 1980s, the Ithaca Gun Factory is now planned for demolition and remediation, but local residents are worried that the budget for the planned project isn’t big enough to get the job finished. The state Department of Environmental Conservation held a meeting at City Hall to discuss the project, and several community residents voiced their concerns about the budget for the clean up, which is just $2.2 million. The proposed budget will cover both demolition and remediation for the site, and locals are concerned that’s just not enough money to complete the entire project. Local Sara Steuteville, a member of the site’s Community Advisory Group, said, “We don’t want to get halfway through and have delay. The site just can’t have it. We’ve had enough delay.” The Ithaca Gun Factory is contaminated with a range of harmful substances, including asbestos, chlorinated solvents (including trichloroethylene), and lead. All three are known to be hazardous: lead can have a negative impact on the brain development of children, and asbestos and trichloroethylene are known human carcinogens. The federal Environmental Protection Agency made an effort to clean up the contamination between 2002 and 2004, sinking a total of $4.8 million into its efforts to remove the contamination. However, some areas of the former gun factory still remain heavily contaminated. In response to residents’ concerns over the size of the budget for the present project, Kenneth Lynch, director of DEC Region 7, said the DEC is “very aware of the possibility of additional funding being necessary for this project. We do have a fairly good handle on what’s out there and what needs to be done. I will not, though, assure you that there’s enough money to complete the project.” If necessary, Lynch says, the DEC will aid the city in identifying other sources of potential funding for the project. The worst-case scenario, he says, is that the state’s Superfund or EPA may have to step in and provide funds or complete the remediation project. “There is a contingency plan always in place,” says Lynch. The current remediation plan involves decontaminating the site using the $2.2 million. Following that phase of the project, it is planned that developer Frost Travis will turn the site into a condominium development which will include a city walkway overlooking Ithaca Falls. This is, however, contingent on whether there’s enough money to complete the remediation. Residents do have other concerns, in addition to the budget issue. In particular, the public is concerned about air quality during the project, and whether monitoring will be carried out while it is in progress. Susan Shearer, senior sanitary engineer with the state Department of Health, responded by saying that air monitors will operate continuously around the perimeter of the demolition zone. If the monitors detect heavy amounts of toxic dust construction methods can be adjusted to reduce dust levels. (Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News)