Texaco Beacon Research Center to be demolished to allow assessment of contamination.
Demolition is expected to begin soon at the former Texaco Beacon Research Center in the Fishkill hamlet of Glenham. The purpose is the assessment and removal of contamination at the site.
Mark Hendrickson, project manager for Chevron Environmental Management Co., said 43 of the site’s 64 buildings will be taken down to their foundations after asbestos remediation is completed.
“The site is inactive, and we would like to put it back to productive use,” he said.
The former research center is in the Fishkill hamlet of Glenham.
A textile mill was built on the site in 1811. It closed in 1875 due to financial hardship, but reopened under new owners. That business closed its doors in 1929.
Texaco purchased the property in 1931, renovating the former mill to become a crude oil refining research facility.
Expansion, including above-ground storage tanks, took place until 1980. Texaco and Chevron merged in 2001.
At its peak, the center employed about 1,200 people.
A decrease in research activities led to the closure of the facility in 2003. The storage tanks were demolished the same year.
Hendrickson said a lot of investigation into contamination has been done over the years. “Basically, under the (foundation) slabs are some of the last remaining places to look,” he said.
Once the structures are demolished, Hendrickson said, technicians will drill through the concrete slabs to sample the soil underneath.
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