EPA proposes Railroad Avenue location be removed from Superfund list

Mercury contamination first identified in 1985, years of cleanup followed

COLONIE — The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed removing the Mercury Refining, Inc. site from its National Priorities List, signaling the agency’s satisfaction with efforts to clean up mercury contamination at the Railroad Avenue location.

The decision to delist the site is open for public comment until Monday, Sept. 16.

The site, which borders the towns of Colonie and Guilderland, has been under scrutiny due to mercury contamination from its former use as a mercury reclamation facility. The EPA and the state Department of Environmental Conservation have overseen extensive cleanup efforts since 1985.

From 1955 to 1998, Mercury Refining Company, Inc. used specialized ovens to extract mercury from batteries, thermometers, fluorescent bulbs, spill debris, dental amalgams, and other materials. The company also collected and brokered silver powders and small quantities of other precious metals.

Before 1980, mercury-contaminated waste was dumped over an embankment into a tributary of Patroon Creek. From 1980 to 1998, waste batteries and other mercury-containing materials were stored in drums on wooden pallets in paved areas before being disposed of.

The Mercury Refining, Inc. site was added to the NPL in September 1983 after mercury was found in the surrounding soil, groundwater, and sediments in an unnamed tributary of Patroon Creek. Mercury was also detected in fish tissue, signaling a potential risk to human health and local wildlife.

Mercury Refining Company, Inc. began cleanup efforts following a 1985 agreement with the state, excavating and removing approximately 2,100 cubic yards of mercury-contaminated soils and debris, along with another 300 cubic yards of PCB-contaminated soils. According to the EPA, roughly 4,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil and sediment were removed by 1998, before the agency stepped in the following year.

In 2013, the area was designated a Superfund site, identifying it as one of the nation’s most contaminated hazardous waste sites. This designation also allowed the EPA to pursue responsible parties for cleanup costs, which the agency estimated at $9.3 million.

Gillette Company, KeySpan Gas East Corp., Energizer Battery Manufacturing, Inc., Union Carbide Corporation, and Spectrum Brands, Inc. were named responsible for the costs, along with 19 federal agencies and 42 additional unnamed entities required to make payments into an escrow account. The agency also settled with another 315 entities that had sent mercury-containing material to the site.

The proposed deletion does not absolve responsible parties of liability but indicates that the site has been restored to a condition that no longer requires federal oversight under the Superfund program.

Following the public comment period, the EPA will review all feedback before making a final decision. The recommendation to remove the site from the NPL reflects the EPA’s confidence that the site no longer poses a significant threat to public health or the environment.

According to the EPA, groundwater monitoring over the past several years has shown that mercury concentrations have decreased to levels below the agency’s goals. Ecological assessments have also confirmed that the site no longer presents significant risks to local ecosystems.

Although the remedial actions have been completed, institutional controls, such as restrictions on land use and groundwater usage, remain in place to ensure continued protection. The EPA noted that these controls are in effect for all properties associated with the site except one, where efforts to finalize the necessary legal agreements are ongoing.

If the deletion is finalized, it will mark the formal conclusion of the EPA’s involvement at the site, though the agency retains the right to take future action if new information or conditions warrant it.

Mercury can build up in the tissue of fish and other wildlife and pose a threat to people who eat them. Mercury exposure can damage people’s nervous systems and harm the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and immune systems.

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