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More excavations as lab results still show PCB in I-Denni soil
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Posted on Feb 26 2012
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said there will be further excavations in I-Denni on Capital Hill as laboratory results show that soil in the area is still tainted with polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCB.
This could push back the work completion date to end-March, although this is still subject to change.
Joseph Bonfiglio, chief of public affairs at Army Corps-Honolulu District, said laboratory data for the PCB-tainted soil was 1.2 to 3.7 parts per million, while the lead-tainted soil has been cleared.
“Based upon the lab data, we will continue to excavate more soil until we reach our cleanup level for PCB which is 1.1 ppm. We will continue to strive for a clean and safe environment while protecting public health and safety. All our work is done to the highest standards of safety,” Bonfiglio told Saipan Tribune.
Rep. Sylvester Iguel (R-Saipan) said he looks forward to an Army Corps report on its ongoing work in I-Denni. He said this report should be shared with the public.
Iguel is chairman of the House Committee on Health and Welfare and was among those who actively pushed for the federal cleanup of PCB contamination in Tanapag years back.
Bonfiglio said as of Feb. 22, there have been a total of 406 cubic yards of PCB-tainted soil excavated from I-Denni.
Over 800 cubic yards of metal or lead-tainted soil have also been removed from the site.
The highest reading for PCB soil contamination in I-Denni or Edoni has been 19 ppm. PCB-tainted soil will be shipped off to Beatty, Nevada for proper disposal.
Lead found in the area soil ranges from 40 ppm to 3,000 ppm and the goal is to keep it down to 200 ppm. These tainted soils are brought to the Marpi landfill.
PCB and lead are toxic chemicals. These are found at a pit in I-Denni that the U.S. military used during and after World War II as a waste repository. It has been identified as a formerly used defense site, or FUDS.
The I-Denni project comes nine years after the completion of the $20 million PCB contamination cleanup in Tanapag in 2003 involving 40,000 tons of PCB-contaminated soil.
