SUPERFUND SITE CLEANUP COULD END IN SIX WEEKS

A cloud of steam poured out of the 76-foot-high stack at the Missouri Electric Works Superfund site Monday as an environmental contractor moved ahead with the task of cleaning 30,000 tons of PCB-contaminated soil.

The soil treatment work should be completed within six weeks, said Sheila Hockel, who works for Sverdrup Corp. and handles contract management at the site.

The actual cleanup work is being handled by Williams Environmental Services Inc. of Stone Mountain, Ga.

The cleanup effort began last fall with the installation of equipment and a series of Environmental Protection Agency-monitored tests of the operation. In late April EPA authorized the contractor to go full throttle with the soil treatment work.

Contaminated soil was treated around the clock last week before the equipment was shut down for maintenance over the weekend. The cleanup unit was back in operation at full blast on Monday.

Hockel said she hasn't noticed any odor problems at the site of the former motor and transformer repair business at 824 S. Kingshighway. The air is monitored daily by the EPA and the contractor.

The stack emits only clean steam, she said. "There should not be an odor coming from here."

She suggested the burning of tires elsewhere in the area might account for any report of a bad odor along South Kingshighway. She said no tires have been burned on the Superfund site.

Hockel said anyone who has concerns about the cleanup work can contact her at the on-site office, 332-8125.

As part of the cleanup, soil contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls greater than 10 parts per million is being excavated. The soil is processed through a screen or shredder to obtain materials less than two inches in size.

The soil is put through a rotary dryer and heated to temperatures of from 850 to 950 degrees. Water is then added to the soil to hold down dust. The treated soil is then stockpiled and later used to backfill excavated areas at the site.

Gases removed from the soil during the heat treatment process are treated to meet air-emission standards. The end result is the steam emissions that pour from the stack.

Even after the soil has been cleaned, work remains to be done at the six-acre site.

The ground must be graded, top soil brought in and the area seeded with grass. Hot, dry summer weather could make that difficult, said Pauletta France-Isetts, the EPA's project manager based in the Kansas City area.

"We might end up having some activity in the fall to get grass established," she said. But she said the soil cleanup project should be completed this year.

Top soil will be placed on the site to a depth of six inches to a foot. Top soil has to be brought in because grass can't be grown in the treated soil. "It is basically sterile," she said.

The government has been seeking to address the contamination problem for 16 years.

France-Isetts said the soil cleanup project will end up costing from $4 million to $6 million.

More than 100 potential responsible parties, which were customers of Missouri Electric Works, are footing about 80 percent of the cost. The EPA is paying the other 20 percent.

Even when the soil work is done, the EPA won't be finished with the site. A study is planned to determine the extent of groundwater contamination.

PCB contamination already has been found in three mud-filled underground caves at the site.

France-Isetts said the groundwater study will get under way this year and could include installation of monitoring wells. The potential responsible parties have hired Komex, an international firm based in England, to study the situation.

The study should be completed within a year, she said.

The EPA official said it is uncertain what, if any, action will be taken to address the groundwater problem. France-Isetts said the geology at the site may make any remedial action impractical.