Vapor and Groundwater Sampling Results

Endicott, New York, Environmental Investigations

Groundwater Monitoring Program Semiannual Data Report

In 1980, IBM began a corrective measures program to evaluate groundwater quality and remediate groundwater contamination beneath IBM's Main Plant facility on North Street in the Village of Endicott. As part of this program, IBM has installed more than 220 monitoring wells and 20 extraction wells during the past 24 years both on-site at its former facility and at various off-site locations in the Village of Endicott and Town of Union. (Some of these wells have since been decommissioned). All current monitoring and extraction well locations are shown on Plate 1 in the report.

Twice each year, IBM submits a report to DEC Division of Solid and Hazardous Materials in accordance with the facility's 6 NYCRR Part 373 Hazardous Waste Management Permit to satisfy the reporting requirement for IBM's former Endicott facility. Groundwater monitoring data generated from December 1, 2002 to June 30, 2003, including groundwater extraction volumes, groundwater elevations, analytical chemistry data, and contaminant levels are presented in the Groundwater Monitoring Semiannual Data Report. (143 page PDF, 535 kb).

Although the magnitude of contamination in the source areas and off-site areas has decreased substantially in the last twenty years, the Department has tasked IBM with evaluating possible actions to expedite groundwater source containment and removal. They are also evaluating potential enhancements to the groundwater remedial program that would shrink the plume as quickly as possible so that it is under fewer buildings as time goes on. The results of that evaluation are expected by the end of 2003 and will be posted on this website. Once the Department conducts a thorough review of IBM's groundwater evaluation and selects additional corrective measures that IBM will be required to perform, they will be incorporated into a proposed modification to the company's Hazardous Waste Management Permit and submitted to public review and comment.

Vapor Sample Collection

Indoor air samples are collected by placing a stainless steel container, called a Summa canister, in the lowest level that can be occupied within a structure. Air is drawn into the canister for a certain duration of time, usually two to 24 hours. Substructure soil gas samples are collected by installing a small unobtrusive probe through the basement floor, slab floor or crawl space of the structure and connecting the probe to a Summa canister. Results of the sampling from each structure have been reported directly to that property owner.

Outdoor sampling is performed, along with the indoor and substructure sampling, to distinguish potential impacts associated with a groundwater plume from those associated with the outside air. Outdoor samples are collected by placing a Summa canister outside of the structure, in close proximity to the indoor sampling location.

The linked summary report table and figures summarizing the sample collection and results were submitted to the NYSDEC by IBM.

The Vapor Sampling Report Table

The Vapor Sampling summary report table (pdf, 258 kb, 26 pages) is intended to summarize the findings of the collection and analysis of indoor air, substructure soil vapor, and ambient (outdoor) air at selected structures. It is organized by the core sampling event with multiple additional sampling phases.

To use the table, choose an area from the figure 2 study area map that is linked above and go to the corresponding core or phase area on the summary table, also linked above. A category-based generic ID number is used to represent each sampled building. The actual addresses are not used for confidentiality purposes.

The types of samples as shown in the table include:

AA for an ambient air sample;
IA for an indoor air sample;
SS for a substructure soil vapor sample,
EB for an "equipment blank", used for quality control.
DUP designates a duplicate sample at varying locations, also for quality control purposes.

For additional information on sampling, please see figure 1, the Air Sampling Procedure Diagram linked above.

The compounds that have been sampled and analyzed include:

PCE = Tetrachloroethene
TCE = Trichloroethene
cis-1,2-DCE = cis-1,2-Dichloroethene
trans-1,2-DCE = trans-1,2-Dichloroethene
VC = Vinyl Chloride
1,1,1-TCA = 1,1,1-Trichloroethane
1,1-DCE = 1,1-Dichloroethene
1,1-DCA = 1,1-Dichloroethane
Cane = Chloroethane
Freon 113 = Trichloro-1,2,2-trifluoroethane
MeCL = Methylene Chloride

Figures

Figure 1 - The air sampling procedure diagram shows various sampling configurations.
Figure 2 - The study area map outlines the core sampling area as well as the later sampling phases.
Figure 3 - The map with a summary of the summer 2003 soil gas findings; a map delineating soil gas concentrations
Figure 4 - Mapped limits of the areas where ventilation systems have been offered.