The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Commissioner toured Tonawanda Coke this week as the agency continues its remediation efforts.

Basil Seggos said the air quality concerns from the plant that closed in October have largely been abated.

He says there are still other significant hazards on the site, though, and it’s apparent there weren't investments by the company on health and safety.

NYSDEC's initial cleanup will still take a few months.

Seggos said they will then move into the full site assessment phase.

Full clean-up on sites like this can take years, he confirmed.

While state Superfund money is being used for the remediation, he said that doesn't mean that taxpayers will simply foot the bill.

"We're looking at all of the potential contributors to that property and who may have dumped there, some liability as well. Superfund gives us that authority. So, we'll track down the 100 years of history on the site, and see who may have a stake in the cleanup," Seggos said.

Seggos says NYSDEC has also hired a 24/7 security company to protect the site.