Barrels of hazardous materials to be removed from former Starlite site in Medina

Photo by Ginny Kropf: Barrels containing hazardous materials were moved at the site of the former Starlite Cleaners. They were moved away from the sidewalk to the back of the lot on Friday. The DEC is seeking a qualified company to take the barrels away and properly dispose of them.

MEDINA – Business owners on North Main Street will be happy to know the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is making arrangements to have half a dozen barrels of hazardous waste removed from the former Starlite Cleaners property as soon as possible.

The site was home to Starlight cleaners from 1952 to 2004. The building was badly damaged in a fire in 2004.

The DEC began extensive studies and cleanup two years ago.

It has removed the former building. A $490,000 remediation plan includes removing 8 feet of soil and other work.

The location is a State Superfund Site and is listed as a Class 2 site in the State Registry of Inactive Hazardous Waste Sites. A Class 2 site represents a significant threat to public health or the environment, with action required, the DEC said.

When Mayor Mike Sidari learned area business people were expressing concerns about the barrels containing hazardous waste and left sitting there, he contacted the DEC. Thursday he received a reply from Gail A. Dieter, environmental chemist with the Division of Environmental Remediation.

Dieter’s e-mail stated the drums on the site contain purge water and soil boring wastes from the pre-design investigation conducted several years ago. In order to dispose of the contents properly, waste characterization samples were collected and sent to a laboratory for analysis. According to Dieter, the data has recently been received and DEC is in the process of contracting with a waste removal company to pick up the drums and dispose of them safely and in a timely manner.

She added the drums have been inspected on a monthly basis, and as an added protection, they have been arranged on pallets over plastic sheeting, as well as being covered with plastic sheeting.

At the mayor’s request, consulting engineers who visited the site on Thursday moved the barrels from the fence near the sidewalk to the back of the lot, until they can make final arrangements for their disposal.