The potential presence of radioactive waste from medical procedures was one of the reasons that negotiations surrounding the sale of the Long Island College Hospital to the Peebles Corporation failed last week, according to the Brooklyn Paper.
The results of a cursory environmental study could further complicate plans to sell the property, which has been valued at $500 million.
According to the Brooklyn Paper, the report also showed potentially leaky underground fuel storage tanks, possible mercury contamination, a coal boiler and a storage bin that could be difficult to extract, asbestos and lead paint in the buildings.
Earlier during the negotiations, Peebles had offered a $26 million deposit and had agreed to operate the emergency room.
In response to the failed talks, a state spokesperson told the paper: “Unfortunately, several portions of the Peebles proposal have dramatically changed.”
The state maintained that Peebles was looking to share the cost, in which taxpayers would have been partially responsible for the environmental remediation of the site. Before the Peebles Corporation, SUNY was in talks with Brooklyn Health Partners, which also failed. [Brooklyn Paper] — Claire Moses