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Site Description
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Stage of Clean-up: Study Underway
Conditions at Proposal (September 29, 1998): The Hiteman Le ather Company site is located at 173 South Street (Route 51) in the rural Village of West Winfield, Herkimer County, New York. the site is approximately 14 acres in size and is bordered to the n orth by private residences, to the east by South Street, to the s outh by the Unadilla River, and to the west by the West Winfield Cemetery. The features of the site are generally comprised of se veral deteriorating buildings, three interconnected wastewater se ttling lagoons (30 to 50 feet by 150 to 340 feet each), a 2-acre wetlands area adjacent to the lagoons, and a section of the Unadi lla River. The site was operated as a leather tanning facility from 182 0 to 1968 when it was closed, and has been inactive ever since wi th the exception of utilizing the buildings for storage intermitt ently. During the time the facility operated, the leather manufa cturing process underwent several major changes. The raw ingredi ents used during the tanning process evolved from vegetable-based (tree barks) products to mineral-based (CHROMIUM salts) products and acid solutions. However, comparable changes in the treatmen t and disposal of the operation's wastewater were not made. By 1 964, approximately 180,000 gallons of industrial wastewater were discharged from the tannery daily. More...
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