Hazardous waste found at former Hawkeye property

High concentrations of hazardous material have been found in the soil near the old Kodak Hawkeye plant located on St. Paul Street, a report from the state Department of Environmental Conservation shows.

The site has been reclassified as a Class-2 site through New York’s Superfund program. This means that a “consequential amount of hazardous waste” has been identified and the contamination may pose a “significant threat to human health and/or the environment.” 

According to the report, a Class-2 designation does not indicate that people are currently being exposed to contamination, but rather that the DEC has determined that the contamination requires active management and remediation to address and prevent risks. The classification helps ensure the site receives the appropriate level of oversight, investigation, and cleanup, the report states.

Located at 1447 St. Paul Street, the former Kodak Hawkeye plant was originally owned by Eastman Kodak in the early 1900s. In addition to being an industrial hub, the plant also served as the center of a secret U.S. intelligence project called Project Bridgehead. From 1955 through the late 1980s, vetted Kodak employees developed millions of feet of classified spy plane and satellite reconnaissance film, providing intelligence on events like the Cuban Missile Crisis. 

In 2018, WBS Capital purchased the seven-story complex for $2.5 million. There were initial plans for residential and commercial redevelopment, but a cannabis-growing operation was discovered at the facilities in 2023. WBS Capital filed for bankruptcy and put the Hawkeye plant up for auction. 

Then Phoenix Investors LLC, a Milwaukee-based investment firm, bought the site. Early this year, the property was up for auction again. Phoenix Investors and the city of Rochester did not respond to requests for comment.

The DEC completed a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment at the site in 2017, followed by a site characterization between 2023 and 2024. The ESA and site characterizations included analyses of soil, groundwater and indoor air, as well as soil vapor in the building’s sub-slab (the gas and air trapped in the soil spaces directly beneath a building’s foundation slab) and perimeter soil gas samples (a vapor test collected along the outer boundary of a property or contamination site that helps track how far pollution has traveled). 

The DEC has decided to reclassify the site for the following reasons: 

■ Trichloroethene, a compound widely used for degreasing, was detected in the soil at the site “exceeding applicable standards, criteria and guidance values.”

■ High levels of both TCE and cis-1,2-dichloroethene—a man-made chemical commonly used for industrial degreasing, extracting fats or oils, and manufacturing perfumes or pharmaceuticals—were found in groundwater samples. 

■ TCE was detected at high concentrations in soil vapor intrusion evaluations at all eight on-site buildings on the property. 

According to the state Department of Health, exposure to TCE can cause health effects on the central nervous system, liver, kidneys, and immune system, and can affect fetal heart development during pregnancy. The federal Environmental Protection Agency classifies TCE as a chemical that causes cancer in humans.

Regarding DCE, the Department of Health says exposure to high concentrations of 1,2-DCE causes adverse effects on the liver, blood and immune system of laboratory animals. 

Dana Ferine, assistant public information officer at the DEC, says the reclassification of the Hawkeye plant does not indicate that people are currently being exposed to contamination, and that the DEC will work with the Health Department to conduct more tests and evaluate cleanup options. 

According to some news reports, residents who live near the affected site have reported strange smells coming from the building. Many are also concerned about the school and senior residents nearby. 

However, the DEC says there is no cause for concern as of now: Direct contact with contaminants in soil is unlikely because the majority of the site is covered with buildings and asphalt pavement. Contaminated groundwater at the site is not used for drinking or other purposes, and the site is served by a public water supply that obtains water from a different source not affected by this contamination, DEC documents state, 

The department says it will keep the public updated on the investigation and cleanup process.

Alefiya Presswala is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer and member of the Oasis Project’s second cohort.

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