discover tetrachloroethene<\/a> (PCE) \u2013a chemical that can cause impaired cognitive functions, kidney and liver issues and reproductive problems\u2013 in groundwater 16 to 20 feet below the surface.<\/p>\nThe contamination has gradually migrated downward for decades and continues to move along the natural slope of the land.\n<\/p>\n
Wong emphasized to Bronx residents that the contaminants are not in residential drinking water.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWater comes out of your tap supplied by pipes,\u201d he said. \u201cNew York City water comes from upstate.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
According to Wong, DEC will use a method called in-situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) to remove the PCE from the land. The process works by injecting a chemical oxidant\u2014in this case, potassium permanganate\u2014directly into the contaminated groundwater 16 to 20 feet below the surface.<\/p>\n
When the permanganate encounters PCE molecules, it transforms the toxic compound into non-toxic substances like carbon dioxide and water. This allows the contamination to be treated where it sits, rather than having to dig up and haul away thousands of tons of contaminated soil.<\/p>\n
Michelle Crimi, a professor in the department of civil and environmental engineering at Clarkson University, said ISCO works instantaneously.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I were to mix the PCE and promagagnate in the lab, you would see the non-toxic particles form within minutes,\u201d Crimi said.\n<\/p>\n
The process is currently being tested in a pilot phase \u201cto make sure it is effective,\u201d Wong added.\n<\/p>\n
Crimi said the use of permanganate for chemical oxidation is very common and has been used safely for a couple of decades, specifically for cleaning up previous dry cleaner sites.\n<\/p>\n
If the preliminary studies prove this method to be effective, the DEC plans to start its first large-scale injections in the summer 2026 \u2013 with three rounds of injections per year. The agency also plans to continue long-term groundwater monitoring, potentially for decades.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe wells will stay until they\u2019re no longer needed,\u201d Wong said.\n<\/p>\n
Crimi explained the remediation will take several years because of how PCE behaves once spilled. When PCE enters the ground, it forms deep underground pools. The permanganate treatment only works at the outer edges, not deep inside the contaminated zone.<\/p>\n
PCE also absorbs into the surrounding soil, making it harder to reach. That\u2019s why multiple treatment rounds are necessary\u2014the DEC must wait between injections to give the PCE time to dissolve back into the groundwater, where it can then be neutralized by the next round of treatment.<\/p>\n
At the meeting, several residents said that while the engineering plan appears sound but that the agency needs to communicate more clearly with the local community.\n<\/p>\n
Garcia welcomed the explanation but noted that the DEC has yet to fulfill earlier promises of broad outreach. In March 2024, activists submitted a list of 240 addresses they believed should receive DEC\u2019s updates.<\/p>\n
The DEC, however, said it only mailed letters to 22 buildings\u2014 the ones directly above where soil vapor intrusion was most likely.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a big difference,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cPeople have watched drilling rigs in front of their buildings for years. They deserve a basic explanation.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Cesar Yoc, a community board member, said residents need more than general reassurance that the cleanup method \u201chas worked elsewhere.\u201d He wants the DEC to show evidence from the ISCO method working in previous sites.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople worry about their health and they worry about time,\u201d Yoc said. \u201cIf the study area is the whole yellow line on the map, then everyone in that area should get information.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Residents also raised concerns about the absence of health testing for residents. In the past, the DEC has said that indoor air testing hasn\u2019t indicated the need for individual health monitoring, but activists point out that contamination has been present since the 1960s.<\/p>\n
\u201c57 years is a long time,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cYou can\u2019t assume no one was ever exposed just because you don\u2019t see it now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For years, residents and environmental advocates in Melrose have pushed state officials for clearer information about the toxic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":73543,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,34547,32307,37222,9,24,2198,63,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-73542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-community-board-1","tag-melrose","tag-melrose-environmental-awareness-committee","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-state-department-of-environmental-conservation","tag-nyc","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73542\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}