Cold Spring is a town in New York State, situated on the Hudson River To the south of Cold Spring is: Foundry Cove – a small river inlet Constitution Marsh – a diverse wetland A battery factory was established in 1952 between the town and the river The resulting pollution caused devastating heavy metal contamination both inside and outside the plant facility, making it "the most cadmium polluted site in the world” (Klerks, 1987) Pollutants included: Cadmium ZincTrichloroethylene (TCE) Nickel Cobalt Cadmium is extremely toxic to humans – it is carcinogenic and has been banned from use in manufacturing by the EU
US Army constructs battery plant Polluted water starts contaminating the area Treatment plant built after a series of owners Marathon Battery Co. purchases the plant Congress passes the Clean Water Act NY State discovers Cadmium in Foundry Cove EPA orders Marathon to dredge sediment. Sediments buried in underground vault Discharge of Cadmium treated wastewater allowed NY State discovers high levels of Cadmium and Nickel in Cove, Marsh and surrounding area Marathon Company closes plant
The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) drew up a remediation plan, which they were to personally manage In 1983 the area became a Superfund Site, due to the severity and extent of Cadmium contamination Superfund Site – a National Priorities List of abandoned hazardous waste sites requiring long-term cleanup, under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, 1980 Remediation plan split into 3 areas: The battery plant grounds Foundry Cove The surrounding areas including residential and recreational areas
Dredging, draining and treating contaminated sediments (removing 95% of Cd.) Replanting acres of marshes along Foundry Cove Excavating and treating contaminated soil in an underground vault (lined with clay and asphalt) on the plant property Tearing down plant buildings and processing towers Excavating contaminated soil from residential gardens near the site and landscaping these yards
Marathon Company closes plant and relocates Site purchased for use as a storage site Congress passes CERCLA EPA adds Foundry Cove site area as a Superfund Site EPA orders the former plant owners to clean up the site The Army and Marathon reimburse the EPA for the clean up Agreement with Gould (previous facility tenant) for clean up Army and Marathon set up trust fund Dredging of marsh and cove Excavation and deposition of Cadmium Marsh replanting Clean-up completed
The responsible parties, Marathon Battery, Gould and the US Army were forced to pay $109 million ▪ Marathon - $9 million ▪ Gould - $57 million ▪ US Army - $43 million The majority of Marathon’s and Gould’s costs were covered by their insurance
In 1995, the clean-up was completed On 18th October 1996, the site was officially delisted from the Superfund program The former battery site has been declared safe and is ready for redevelopment In total 189,000 tonnes of contaminated soil and sediment was removed and treated off site Today, Constitution Marsh is a Bird Conservation Area, Foundry Cove is a popular destination as an area of natural beauty, and nature education centres are located in the Cold Spring area Foundry Cove & Constitution Marsh in 1995 after replanting and reintroduction of wildlife