EPA Takes a Step Forward in Environmental Progress with Removal of Mercury Refining Superfund Site from Superfund National Priorities List

Mar 05, 2025

Colonie and Guilderland, N.Y. – Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is taking a step forward by announcing the deletion of the Mercury Refining Superfund site in the towns of Colonie and Guilderland, New York, from the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL). EPA added the site to the NPL in 1983 due to mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) contamination. The site has since undergone extensive cleanup, with long-term monitoring in place to safeguard public health and the environment moving forward.

“After a successful cleanup and years of thorough monitoring, EPA is confident that the site does not pose a risk to people or the surrounding environment,” said EPA Deputy Regional Administrator, Alyssa Arcaya. “This Superfund site deletion reflects years of hard work and collaboration with state and local partners to restore the site.”

From 1956 to 1998, Mercury Refining Company, Inc. operated an industrial facility that recovered mercury from various materials, which left the soil, groundwater and sediment contaminated with toxic mercury and PCBs. Over the years, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and later, EPA oversaw the cleanup.  Work included the removal of approximately 5,700 tons of mercury-contaminated soil and sediment, and the solidification and stabilization of remaining contaminated soil including soil and groundwater below the water table. The EPA worked with the site owner to allow continued and safe use of the property during and after cleanup. The Mercury Refining Company currently uses an on-site building as an office and to process materials containing precious metals.

EPA completed all cleanup actions at the site in 2014. Since then, the site has been subject to long-term monitoring, including regular reviews of groundwater, surface water, sediment and fish tissue sampling, ensuring that the cleanup continues to protect the community and the environment. The EPA will continue to monitor the site every five years to ensure the ongoing protection of public health and the environment.

Background

The National Priorities List (NPL) includes the nation’s most contaminated hazardous waste sites and poses the most risk to human health and the environment. EPA deletes sites or parts of sites from the NPL when no further cleanup is required to protect human health or the environment. Years, and sometimes decades, of complex investigation and cleanup work have gone into getting these sites to where they are today.

Visit the Mercury Refining Superfund site profile page for additional background and site documents.

For a copy of the pre-publication notice and more information and more information about EPA’s NPL deletions, visit EPA’s Deleted National Priorities List webpage.

Get Stormwater Training Today!

# # #

Contact: Stephen McBay, 929-243-0417, [email protected]