After raising eyebrows around the neighborhood, the Federal Government may be looking in to the Meeker Avenue chemical plume. Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez is calling on the United States Environmental Protection Agency to fully investigate the extent of contamination in the Newtown Creek area.

The petroleum contamination of Newtown Creek and the area around it have long been known, but the more recent discovery of chemical plumes south of the creek, centering around Meeker Avenue, have drawn renewed calls for cleanup and mitigation.

Newtown Creek has recently been considered for Superfund designation, which would fast track a cleanup effort, but the Superfund sites do not account for the chemical plumes.

The newly discovered plumes, which are primarily composed of trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE), which are used in metal work and dry cleaning, respectively, are the remnants of shuttered businesses that operated in the area.

In a letter to the EPA, Velazquez said, “I write to draw your attention to new evidence concerning the Newtown Creek contamination in my district in Greenpoint. Several dangerously chlorinated plumes, including the Meeker Avenue plume, pose an imminent risk to the health of local residents. The EPA must fulfill its duty to the public by taking charge of this investigation. If this site, which is one of the largest contaminations on record, does not merit Superfund status, then none do.

“There is a pressing need for EPA resources and manpower, and I call on the Agency to use its full statutory authority to protect the health of residents neighboring the Meeker Avenue plume and the larger Newtown Creek area,” she continued. “After years of living in the dark, residents and workers need to know what dangers they face.”