The region has made gradual progress during the past year in cleaning up contaminated sites and reducing the health and environmental threats they represent. With a continuing backlog of identified hazardous waste sites, and with ongoing new additions to the list, the region needs a continued emphasis on site identification and prompt remediation. As more sites are cleaned up to levels considered non-threatening, the region must address the economic and social impacts of having former waste sites, or lightly contaminated properties, in its stock of developable land. See Hazardous Waste Sites in 1999 Quick Glance or Full Text . A designation of 2a signifies that a site's hazards have not been fully evaluated.
Sites progress to different classifications as they are investigated and remediated.
In 1999-2000, the cleanup status of hazardous waste sites in Western New York remained relatively stable. The number of sites ranked by DEC as significant threats dropped by one, to 80 total sites, while the number rated as no significant threat climbed to 91, five more than reported in 1999. Although the number of sites being evaluated remained at five, they are not the same five sites listed as under evaluation in 1999. The DEC inventory does not include all potentially dangerous or contaminated sites, particularly those for which owners promptly develop voluntary cleanup agreements. A Closer Look Remediation efforts for a Class 1 or 2 hazardous waste site may take a decade or more, during which time those parcels of land are generally unusable.