FORT SMITH -- Whirlpool Corp. representatives updated Fort Smith city directors Tuesday on remediation of a hazardous chemical contamination, but outside their prepared presentation they had few answers to questions.
City Director Kevin Settle didn't get an answer during the study session when he asked what the plan was for dealing with a zone of soil highly contaminated with trichloroethylene that Environ International Corp. workers found late last year near where the company used the chemical as a degreaser in its refrigerator operation.
The discovery was revealed in a May 12 letter from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality's Jay Rich, technical branch manager in the Hazardous Waste Division, that said the highly affected soils were 25 to 30 feet deep. The letter stated that Environ planned to remove the soil.
Whirlpool Corporate Vice President Jeffrey Noel and Environ's Mike Ellis said data collected from recent sampling must be analyzed, put in a report and submitted to the Environmental Quality Department before a plan of action could be approved.
The samples were taken from a highly contaminated area under a shallow surface water drainage trench 225 feet long by 5 feet wide that originated near the former degreaser building where Whirlpool used trichloroethylene to clean refrigerator parts before assembly from 1967 to 1981. Ellis said the trench used to carry water off the paved parking lot next to the degreaser building.
Most of the trench is in what is called Area 1, close to the degreaser building where the highest concentration of trichloroethylene lies under the ground.
Department Deputy Director Ryan Benefield, who also attended Tuesday's study session, said the department would have to get Whirlpool's report on its soil and water samples before deciding if the current method of injecting a neutralizing chemical into the soil should be used on the highly contaminated area or if some other method would be more appropriate.
An answer may not be available until the fall.
In the meantime, a progress report from Whirlpool to city directors stated that the highly contaminated area did not pose a health hazard to Fort Smith residents because it is on Whirlpool property and not accessible to the public.
Settle also asked how much more chemical neutralizer would have to be injected into the more than 100 holes drilled on the edge of the neighborhood to the north of the plant and two areas on Whirlpool property.
Ellis said he didn't know the answer. Samples from injection wells had been taken last week and were yet to be analyzed for their effectiveness in destroying the trichloroethylene.
Noel also said he couldn't answer City Director Keith Lau's question about how the company would keep city directors updated on how many neighborhood property owners signed on as members of a class in a federal lawsuit in which Whirlpool announced a settlement last week.
Noel said it may be difficult because of the attorney-client relationship.
Metro on 07/09/2014