For almost 40 years, Continental Cleaners used chemicals, like most other dry cleaning businesses, to clean clothes.
And for almost 40 years, according to a report by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, toxins in those chemicals slowly seeped into the onsite soil and leaked into the ground water.
On Monday, a company contracted by the EPA conducted a second round of testing.
The site was placed on the EPA's National Priorities List in March because of "contaminated soil and groundwater resulting from dry cleaning activities," according to the EPA's website.
"The groundwater concentrations of these volatile organic compounds significantly exceed state and federal drinking water standards," the website reported.
Kyle Bryant, an environmental scientist with the EPA, said the first owners of Continental Cleaners were not faced with the same scrutiny as businesses now.
"As with the case with most cleaners, they used to have all kinds of practices like (dumping) solvents out the back door into the alleyway," Bryant said.
Continental Cleaners stopped doing onsite cleaning in 2005. The location is now a for drop-off and pickup service only.
A resident of an apartment complex adjacent to the site said he heard there were chemicals in the soil.
"I think it's bad," he said.
However, Bryant said the owners of nearby houses, members of the church across the street and children who play at a nearby park should not be alarmed.
"Because we are in an urbanized setting and everyone in this area is on municipal drinking water -- that means the water comes through a pipe -- they're not coming into contact with these hazardous chemicals at all," Bryant said.
More testing has to be done.
Some chemicals discovered are known carcinogens. If a worker wishing to redevelop the site ingests chemicals or has direct exposure over time, there are risks, Bryant said.
A public meeting conducted by the EPA is being held at the Tacolcy Center at 6161 NW Ninth Ave., Miami.
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