Brockport tributary clean up deemed a success

Clean-up and soil sampling continues along Tributary 3 to Brockport Creek and, according to a recent fact sheet distributed by the Department of Environmental Conservation, the most recent clean-up, completed October 4, was deemed a success.

In October 2005, DEC staff collected sediment samples from 12 locations along the tributary to check on the effectiveness of on-site and off-site clean-up activities that had been on-going since 2002. The samples were tested for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), silver and cyanide. Results reported by the DEC showed that the samples met the clean-up requirements of total PCBs less than 1 ppm, silver and cyanide less than 10 ppm.

"They are here on a pretty regular basis cleaning the traps," Village of Brockport Mayor Morton Wexler said. "They spend at least two days cleaning up. I can see them from my house on Oxford."

General Electric/Black & Decker have also been testing sediment collected in a trap located at 200 State Street, the former GE site. The sediment trap is monitored quarterly to assess the effectiveness of the on-site clean-up activities. The latest results show a marked improvement in sediment quality. PCB concentration has dropped substantially, indicating the clean-up has effectively controlled PCB migration from the 200 State Street site.

"We're given the results of the testing and seeing the number of contaminants going down is a welcome thing for this village," Wexler said. "Right now, I don't think we have any major concerns with the clean-up efforts.

Talks are still on-going with GE and the village's attorneys on a donation that GE is looking to make to the village. "Once it's all legal, we will be talking to the families involved to see where the money might be best used," he said.

In addition to the soil monitoring, there is a biomonitoring program involving the collection and testing of fish from Brockport Creek to measure for PCBs. The next scheduled sampling for the creek is spring 2006.

February 5, 2006