Navy Yard Transformer Area Loses Superfund Status

The transformer area of the Brooklyn Navy Yard has been partially cleaned and secured and is no longer considered a Superfund site, according to a public document released earlier this month that seems to have gone largely unnoticed. A period for public comment started Sept. 25 and ends Oct. 28. Above is a Google image that accompanied the notice, identifying the location of the site — apparently the chartreuse pushpin labeled “224018A Naval Station Brooklyn Transformer Area.” A map from environmental web site HabitatMap, below, seems to show a different, but more specific area. “Remedial work began in the summer of 1994,” according to HabitatMap, which describes itself as a environmental health and justice non-profit.“This work included powerwashing the transformers and stained slabs and removing hazardous levels of PCB contaminated soils. The areas were then backfilled with crushed stone and secured. This work was concluded in the fall of 1995. Three monitoring wells were installed in the fall of 1996 to determine whether PCBs had contaminated the groundwater beneath the site at Building 7. Three rounds of groundwater samples collected in September 1996, December 1996, and March 1997, showed no detectable concentrations of PCBs. Further monitoring at this site is not warranted.” As far as we can tell, this site is locked away and will not be turned into luxury retail or condos any time soon.