66 Hudson, The Spiral

The Spiral (66 Hudson Boulevard) is a 1.5-acre site located within a major commercial area of the Hudson Yards neighborhood in Manhattan. The Site was the location of the former Jonas & Naumburg factory which processed rabbit, hare, nutria, and beaver pelts for the hatter’s industry from 1911 through 1950. The fur was chemically treated with mercury (quicksilver) and nitric acid in a process called “carroting” to prepare the fur into a felt product for hats. This hazardous chemical not only endangered the health of the workers, but it impacted the land as well. The Site was remediated through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Brownfield Cleanup Program. Roux conducted a Phase II environmental site investigation (ESA), a remedial investigation (RI), and a waste characterization sampling program. During waste characterization sampling and delineation, mercury concentrations were detected at concentrations far in excess of the NYSDEC’s commercial soil cleanup objectives. Some on-site soil was determined to be hazardous waste. Sampling also found the presence of mercury in groundwater, indicating that soil is a source of mercury to the groundwater.

During the remediation process, Roux monitored mercury vapor concentrations in the excavation and at the upwind and downwind site perimeter via Jerome 505 portable mercury vapor analyzers, in addition to dust and volatiles, as part of the Community Air Monitoring Program (CAMP). Mercon-X was applied to the hazardous mercury area during excavation to suppress volatilization of mercury vapor through a chemical process that binds the mercury in soil to non-volatile mercury salts, in order to protect the workers and the community. Roux conducted remedial oversight of soil excavation to bedrock across the Site, including the proper disposal of all material on-site (including hazardous lead and mercury soil, high metals soil, and petroleum-impacted soil) and the removal and closure of five underground storage tanks (USTs). At the same time as Roux completed the environmental scope of work, Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers (MRCE) managed the geotechnical engineering aspects of this project and Bohler Engineering managed the civil engineering aspects of this project.

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