Toxic plume linked to gas plant

Report for KeySpan, owner of Hempstead facility, finds possible exposure paths but no imminent threats

A former utility gas-plant site in Hempstead once classified by the state as requiring "no further action" has spawned a nearly 4,000-foot plume of toxic material and could present exposure pathways to people at or near the site, according to a recently released report.

But despite finding toxins in air, water and soil samples that are up to tens of thousands of times the allowable levels, including at a nearby playground and an adjacent medical office, the report concludes there are "no significant or imminent threats to human health that warrant an interim remedial action."

The "final remedial investigation report," prepared for site owner KeySpan Corp. by a New Jersey firm and accepted by the state departments of health and environmental conservation, identified "pathways through which people on site and in the vicinity of the site could be exposed to potentially hazardous material."

KeySpan declined to comment last night. The report was provided to Newsday by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, which is overseeing the cleanup.

One expert who has read the report said the pollution is so extensive that he believes remediation should begin
without delay, along with signs alerting visitors to the exposure hazards.

"This is just a massively polluted site," said Walter Hang, president of Toxics Targeting, an Ithaca-based environmental database company.

"What's really shocking is they've known about this site at least since 1990" and haven't done any remediation work.