peter cooper

PALMER STREET

The Peter Cooper Landfill site consists of an inactive waste disposal area and some areas of contaminated soil at the former Peter Cooper Corporation (PCC) factory in Gowanda, Cattaraugus County, New York. The site surroundings include Cattaraugus Creek to the north-northeast and an associated wetland to the west, residences to the southwest and south, and the remainder of the former PCC factory to the east-southeast. The western portion of the waste disposal area is on property owned by New York State Electric and Gas, and the eastern portion is located on property previously owned by PCC. The site is currently owned by Jimcar Development Inc. PCC and its predecessor, Eastern Tanners Glue Company, manufactured animal glue in Gowanda from 1904 until 1972, and industrial adhesives from 1972 until the plant closed in 1985. Between 1925 and October 1970, PCC used the northwest portion of the property to pile sludges remaining after the animal-glue manufacturing process. These wastes, known as cookhouse sludge because of a cooking cycle that occurred just prior to extraction of the glue, are derived from chrome-tanned hides obtained from tanneries. Numerous investigations conducted since 1981 have shown the cover material to be eroded away and waste exposed in some locations, the concrete retaining wall has collapsed, and leachate seeps are discharging into the Creek. The waste material has been shown to contain elevated levels of chromium, arsenic, zinc, and some organic compounds. Site Responsibility: The site is currently being addressed through enforcement actions.

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