cleanup · Niagara County
Carborundum Globar Site
Town of Niagara
Hyde Park Boulevard silicon-carbide and electronic-component plant with documented chlorinated-solvent contamination. The 1959–1967 nuclear-fuel program belongs to the separate Buffalo Avenue Building 1; the location of the company’s 1943 uranium grinding remains unresolved.
The documented story
What happened here?
Carborundum acquired the former Globar plant in 1936 and manufactured silicon-carbide heating elements and electronic components at the Hyde Park Boulevard property. Solvents used in manufacturing and degreasing became the central cleanup issue.
DEC divided the site into soil, groundwater and off-site-soil operable units. That structure is important because source removal at the plant and continuing groundwater management represent different stages of the remedy.
Correction: NIOSH’s June 2026 presentation places the 1959–1967 nuclear-fuel work at Buffalo Avenue Building 1, not this Globar property. It leaves the exact location of the 1943 grinding unresolved between Buffalo Avenue and Globar.
Silicon-carbide manufacturing left a chlorinated-solvent groundwater legacy
Globar's source soil was removed while groundwater remained under management
1936year Carborundum acquired the Globar plant
1936 onward
Heating elements and electronics relied on solvent-intensive production
Bulk solvent storage, degreasing, and manufacturing created opportunities for spills and leaks. TCE and its breakdown products became the principal documented contaminants.
1999-2002
Major excavation removed the accessible source soil
DEC selected soil and groundwater remedies in 2000, while major removal actions in 1999 and 2002 excavated contaminated source material for off-site disposal.
Present
Groundwater is the remaining managed phase
Monitoring wells track attenuation and residual plume conditions under a site-management plan and land-use controls after soil objectives were achieved for the controlled use.
Correction: Buffalo Avenue nuclear work is a separate location
Earlier Atlas text placed the 1959–1967 fuel-development history on this Globar page. NIOSH identifies Buffalo Avenue Building 1 as its location. The company’s 1943 grinding location remains unresolved.
Read the Buffalo Avenue record and open questions →Chemical guide
Chemicals named in this record
These links explain potential hazards and exposure pathways. A chemical named in a record does not establish that anyone was exposed or harmed.
Chronology
Timeline
- 1936 onward
Carborundum operated the Globar manufacturing plant after acquiring the property.
- Investigation era
DEC investigations identified TCE and related compounds in soil and groundwater and evaluated possible off-site pathways.
- 1999 and 2002
Major source-soil removal work excavated and disposed of contaminated material off site.
- 2000
DEC selected remedies for the site-soil and groundwater operable units.
- Present
Residual groundwater contamination remains under monitoring and site-management controls.
Environmental record
Documented impacts
- TCE and its breakdown products are the principal documented soil and groundwater contaminants.
- Historical spills or leaks associated with bulk solvent storage and use created a subsurface source at the former plant.
- DEC evaluated possible vapor, direct-contact and groundwater pathways; the 2000 decision reported that sampled shallow groundwater near residences did not show site contaminants reaching those properties through that evaluated pathway.
Response
Cleanup and controls
- Contaminated source soil was excavated and transported off site during major remedial actions.
- Groundwater wells track natural attenuation and residual plume conditions.
- A site-management plan, groundwater-monitoring program and land-use controls govern material that remains.
Then and now
The site today
DEC records indicate that soil cleanup objectives were achieved for the controlled use, while groundwater remains a managed residual issue. The site pin does not assert current impacts at surrounding homes.