"Elmira High School is one of 1,290 active and 220 potential toxic legacy sites statewide, according to an analysis of state records by the Elmira Star-Gazette.
Some, like the former IBM site in Endicott now owned by i3 Electronics, are still working factories. Others, such as the Morse Industrial area in Ithaca, are abandoned or mostly abandoned.
The largest, by area, is the Seneca Army Depot. The former munitions storage and disposal facility covering 10,600 acres in Seneca County is polluted with an array of hazards ranging from industrial solvents to radioactive waste, the extent of which is still being uncovered.
These sites might be classified as “brownfields” — targeted for use by a private owner, or state Superfund — most of which are orphaned and left as a taxpayer problem. Some are also designated as a “national priority” on the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund list, which means the urgency of the problem warrants federal funding."
Tom Wilber reports for the Elmira Star-Gazette December 19, 2018.
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