Dewey Loeffel Landfill

In March 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency added the Dewey Loeffel Landfill site to the Superfund National Priorities List. The site is composed of an inactive hazardous waste disposal area and the releases from it into nearby surface water bodies, including the Valatie Kill and Nassau Lake, and an underlying groundwater aquifer.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the Dewey Loeffel Landfill site property was used as a disposal facility for industrial hazardous wastes, including solvents, waste oils, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), scrap materials, sludges, and solids. Some hazardous substances, including volatile organic compounds and PCBs, have migrated from the facility to underlying aquifers and downstream surface water bodies, resulting in contamination of ground water, surface water, sediments, and several species of fish. There is currently a New York State Department of Health fish consumption advisory for the Valatie Kill, Nassau Lake and Kinderhook Lake.

Health Consultation

Over many years, the New York State Department of Health has been working with community members and other stakeholders to provide important health information about contaminants at the site. The State Health Department, in partnership with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, has prepared the following health documents in response to community's concerns about contaminants at the site.

  • Health Consultation: Public Comment Draft (PDF, 182KB, 29pg.)

    This health consultation updates previously identified exposure pathways - through contact with private well water, soils, sediments and contaminated fish and identifies soil vapor intrusion as an additional exposure pathway that needs to be evaluated for the site.

  • Comment Form (PDF, 22KB, 2pg.)

    Comments on the draft Health Consultation are encouraged and should be sent to the Department of Health by February 29, 2012. Please return your completed comment form to:

    New York State Department of Health
    Bureau of Environmental Exposure Investigation
    Flanigan Square, 547 River Street, Room 300
    Troy, NY 12180-2216
    Fax: (518) 402-7859

To obtain a copies of any of these documents, either email us at documentcomments@health.state.ny.us or call us at 518-402-7880.