Ithaca Journal

The case of chemical pollution from the former Morse Chain plant above the City of Ithaca's South Hill neighborhood is anything but closed.

State conservation officials need to recognize the gravity of this problem, raise the priority of cleaning the area and provide residents with a clear plan of action -- including a timeline.

About 17 years ago, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation identified pollution problems at the old Morse Chain plant, which today is owned by Emerson Power Transmission.

ITHACA -- Another possible source of contamination has been found on the site of the former Morse Chain plant.

Fifty-five-gallon drum barrels labeled as containers for methyl chloroform, a form of tricholorethane or TCE, are
rusted out and littering the hillside below Emerson Power Transmission, which bought the property in 1983.

ITHACA -- An air of cautious optimism has settled on South Hill after some residents received results of home air pollution tests.

The homes are all in an area potentially affected by pollution from the former Morse Chain factory on Danby Road and were tested by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, starting in September.

Of the 44 homes where air was analyzed, about a dozen received letters detailing the DEC findings, according to Mary Jane Peachey, Region 7 engineer for the DEC.

ITHACA -- U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey is adding his voice to those calling for state officials to step up remedial efforts around the site of industrial solvent contamination in Ithaca.

"Emerson (Power Transmission) has been very cooperative. Emerson is doing the proper thing and attempting to be a good citizen here," Hinchey, D-22nd, said during a press conference on Turner Place in the city. "It is the Department of Environmental Conservation that is lagging ... in its responsibilities."

ITHACA -- A consultant's report obtained Monday outlines how trichloroethylene and other toxic substances were detected at various levels in testing near Emerson Power Transmission last month.

Virginia-based Environmental Strategies Consulting performed the soil gas testing on behalf of Emerson, and submitted the report to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

In addition to trichloroethylene (TCE), the study also detected evidence of related chemicals cis-1,2dichloroethene, tetrachloroethene and 1,1,1-trichloroethane in tests done at nine sites on June 17.

ITHACA - Soil vapor testing in neighborhoods downhill from Emerson Power Transmission has detected contaminants at nine different sites, according to a flier distributed to residents Friday.

That communication came from the company. The State Department of Environmen -tal Conservation confirmed the findings to The Journal in a telephone interview - minus statistics indicating pollution levels.

ITHACA - Oil pollution problems around the former Morse Chain plant appear to have caught the attention of local officials more than 40 years ago, according to documents on file at the Tompkins County Health Department.

But according to a local environmental watchdog who recently reviewed the files, lingering effects from oil spills may have been overlooked when other contamination issues were being addressed.

EDITORIAL

Recently discovered toxic spills throughout the City of Ithaca should be no surprise to area residents, given this area's long industrial history.

Coal tar that was a byproduct of manufactured gas plagues the area near Washington Park. Adjacent to Ithaca Falls, the federal Environmental Protection Agency is spearheading the cleanup of lead near the former
Ithaca Gun plant. In the South Hill area, new tests for trichloroethylene pollution of soil and groundwater are under way.

ITHACA -- The State Department of Environmental Conservation has requested additional testing be done around a toxic spill site in the city, while neighbors have banded together to request more information about
the pollution.

DEC Region 7 Engineer Mary Jane Peachey said on May 28 that Emerson Power Transmission will, at DEC's request, perform vadose zone testing around areas potentially affected by decades-old toxic solvent spills around the company's plant. The vadose zone is the area between the surface soil and the groundwater table.