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Do IT this week: Layering
$8 million is spent in an effort to clean contaminated area
By Bob Downing
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Saturday, Nov 28, 2009
A contaminated ditch that is being cleaned up may become a public park in southeast Akron.
More than 31,000 tons of soil and other debris were removed from along 1,800 feet of Haley's Ditch by Lockheed Martin in an $8 million cleanup.
The removal of the sediments contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) began in late July by Arcadis U.S. Inc. and was wrapped up in mid-November, said Dave Gunnarson, project manager for Lockheed Martin.
The stream restoration and final plantings along the ditch, also known as Haley's Run, are largely done but must be completed next spring because of the wet summer in Akron, he said.
About 90 percent of the PCB-laced soils were shipped to American Landfill near Waynesburg in southeastern Stark County. The more contaminated sediments were shipped to a hazardous-waste facility in Bellville, Mich.
There were no real surprises during the cleanup because Lockheed Martin had thoroughly analyzed the site where the PCB problem was discovered in 2003, he said.
Clean soil was hauled in to replace the contaminated soil, creating an open, grassy area.
The cleanup plan was approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Ohio EPA. Lockheed Martin must submit a final cleanup reports to the agencies early next year.
Lockheed Martin offered to conduct the cleanup after it was discovered that PCBs had washed into the ditch from storm sewers around the former Goodyear Airdock.
The air dock was built in 1929 using material coated with a fire-retardant substance that contained PCBs. Dust particles fell from the building to the ground and rain washed it
into Haley's Ditch. A 2006 fire at the air dock added to the PCB problem.
PCBs, a class of 209 oil-based chemicals used primarily as coolants and lubricants in electrical equipment, were banned in the late 1970s because of health concerns. Exposure to PCBs can cause cancer, liver damage, skin irritation and reproductive and developmental problems.
The PCBs were found in patches on the 5.5 acres along the ditch and where it overflowed its banks, Gunnarson said.
The work was done from Triplett Boulevard at Landon Street north to near the intersection of Archwood Avenue and Seiberling Street.
The EPA requires a cleanup if PCB levels exceed 1 milligram per kilogram. That is equal to 1 part in 1 million.
The highest contamination levels found in Haley's Ditch were 50 times higher than EPA action levels, the company said.
The health threat is low because the biggest risk would be to someone who would eat the PCB-laced soil from the ditch, the company said.
About 400 tests showed no evidence of PCBs in excess of 1 part per million in the remediation area, Gunnarson said.
Where Haley's Ditch had been a small, deep, narrow, straight ditch that was largely overgrown, it has been converted into a small, wide, meandering, more natural stream, Gunnarson said.
That work was done by a consortium of three companies: EnviroScience Inc. of Stow, North Carolina-based River Works Inc. and the GPD Group, which has an Akron office.
The ditch flows to the north and empties into the Little Cuyahoga River.
To date, 550 trees and shrubs have been planted and the fenced-off area has been seeded with grass. By next spring, an additional 275 trees and shrubs will be planted.
Species include dogwood, sumac, silver maple, hornbeam, sweetgum, tulip poplar, pine oak and white pine.
H.M. Miller Construction of Suffield Township, hasreplaced the 66-inch-diameter storm drain that runs from Triplett to the beginning of Haley's Ditch. That project is being done for the city and is likely to be completed in a few weeks, said supervisor Pete Hill.
Lockheed Martin is working with the Western Reserve Land Conservancy to see if the 5.5 acres can be converted into a park. The conservancy, a non-profit group based in Chester Township in Geauga County, also owns several properties to the east along Adam Run in southeast Akron.
Lockheed Martin, with 700 workers in Akron, assumed ownership of the air dock in 1997 when it acquired portions of Loral Corp. Loral had owned the building since 1987, when it purchased the assets of Goodyear Aerospace Corp.
In 2006, the Summit County Port Authority assumed ownership of the air dock and leases the building to Lockheed Martin.
The air dock — it is bigger than seven football fields — was designed to build lighter-than-air ships, including the famous Goodyear blimps.
Lockheed Martin has installed a rubber membrane over the air dock's roof, coated the interior of the building, replaced siding on the lower part of the building, replaced rain gutters and installed filters over storm-drain openings to reduce future risks from the air dock.
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.
A contaminated ditch that is being cleaned up may become a public park in southeast Akron.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Akron, OH
Posted 09:05 AM, 11/28/2009
Mayor Don could learn a thing or two from Lockheed-Martin about dealing with the EPA.
LM worked with the EPA to come up with a plan and was able to completely resolve the issue and complete remediation to this area in a matter that went from discovery to project completion in just 6 years with a total cost of just $8 million.
Akron, Oh
Posted 09:29 AM, 11/28/2009
I can't believe I'm the only one to comment here, sure took long enough to bring a clean up project to this area. PCB's banned in 1970's and yet clean up not started till 2008, progress? One part in one million, requires clean-up, and nearly 50 times higher in the ditch area, maybe red flags should have stopped the sale in 1987,to Loral from Goodyear. Seems Lockheed Martin shouldn't have been the ones to have responsibility for all this. Enough said of the past and parties to blame, people with health problems from the area, and families with cancer deaths will allways wonder. At least Lockheed Martin can sleep nights, knowing they have done what was needed here.Best of luck securing Park status, and graditute for the hard work,millions spent, to clean the area, and make it right.
Akron, OH
Posted 09:50 AM, 11/28/2009
@Liberty 5...
You need to slow down and RE-READ the story.
===============
Lockheed Martin offered to conduct the cleanup after it was discovered that PCBs had washed into the ditch from storm sewers around the former Goodyear Airdock.
===============
and
===============
Lockheed Martin had thoroughly analyzed the site where the PCB problem was discovered in 2003
===============
The property where the PCB's were discovered may not even belong to Goodyear/Loral/Lookheed-Martin, but they were the ones who stepped up to remedy the issue.
Woodsfield, OH
Posted 10:33 AM, 11/28/2009
@OV-
That work was done by a consortium of three companies: EnviroScience Inc. of Stow, North Carolina-based River Works Inc. and the GPD Group, which has an Akron office.
So you think Lockheed Martin has no ownership of this and did it out of the goodness of their hearts?
Akron, OH
Posted 11:05 AM, 11/28/2009
@Monroe
It doesn't matter if the work was done by the Keebler elves, the work was contracted and paid for by Lockheed-Martin.
And no, I don't think that they shelled out $8 million 'out of the goodness of their hearts', but unlike Mayor Don, they could read the handwriting on the wall that the damage was caused by their predecessor and rather than fight and argue with and stall with the EPA, they came up with an acceptable plan and executed it.
Once again, from discovery of the issue to full resolution in 6 years is 'lightning speed' in this kind of situation.
Mogadore, OH
Posted 11:24 AM, 11/28/2009
Usually, the contract for the sale of a business stipulates which party is responsible for any such environmental issues, even if they are discovered later. L-M must have had the responsibility. And OT is right, L-M probably could have fought a legal battle about the whole thing, but instead decided to bite the bullet and get it done. Not so much out of the kindness of their hearts, but for the sake of their wallets. Legal battles are costly, especially with the EPA.
Demolition Falls, OH
Posted 11:32 AM, 11/28/2009
"The health threat is low because the biggest risk would be to someone who would eat the PCB-laced soil from the ditch, the company said."
Of course, the biggest risk would come from ingesting the stuff. I believe that PCB's are also easily absorbed through the skin, and that would be a more likely avenue of exposure for people in a park setting. It's good that they are cleaning up this mess, but if they are going to develop it into a public park, they need to do it with extreme vigilance.
Posted 11:33 AM, 11/28/2009
typical Akron locals hating on anything positive for the city.
Akron, OH
Posted 12:55 PM, 11/28/2009
@Overtaxed Voter, the city of Akron has not been fighting with the EPA on the actual plan or been trying to avoid it. The city came to an "acceptable plan" and timeline with Ohio EPA, but the federal EPA did not like it and overruled. I have no problem with the city trying to spread the costs out over 30 years (which Ohio EPA agreed to).
Akron, OH
Posted 12:57 PM, 11/28/2009
@bibliophile, there is no danger in a park since they removed all the PCB soil and laid done new, clean soil over top. Most clean up sites eventually become parks like this to promote good relations with the community and sometimes becomes there are time restraints on how long the soil can be disturbed by construction again.
Akron, Oh
Posted 02:38 PM, 11/28/2009
Great job Lockheed Martin. I saw the mayor and Marco "Fatboy" Summerville in the parade today. They were driven in nice antique cars with Renee Greene following in a golf cart and the other council memebers walking. Next maybe Fatboy should walk next year and get a little exercise.
Akron, OH
Posted 03:57 PM, 11/28/2009
@GainSome...
Plusquellic did indeed stall and avoid dealing with the EPA, right up until the point that the multi-hundred-million dollar FEDERAL LAWSUIT with his name on it hit the table earlier this year.
Only then did Donnie-boy decide it was time to address the EPA's concerns.
Canton, OH
Posted 04:22 PM, 11/28/2009
. . .wow. . .
Akron, OH
Posted 04:40 PM, 11/28/2009
@Overtaxed Voter, it is hard to say the city stalled when they have already spent a lots of money on several construction projects related to the sewer run off.
Akron, oh
Posted 05:32 PM, 11/28/2009
So they are cleaning up a patch of land that can poison you and turning it into a park were you can get mugged.
330, oh
Posted 05:38 PM, 11/28/2009
@andrea
it wouldn't be positive for long, the black K.K.K. (aka hood-ie gang) would ruin it before long
Posted 10:04 PM, 11/28/2009
Still sounds like a Love Canal to me. Most of you are probably too young to remember this toxic dump turned into a housing project.
Akron, OH
Posted 10:46 PM, 11/28/2009
@Medina Reader, Love Canal has nothing in common with this site. This site has been cleaned up when Love Canal was built on when the chemical company told no one what was buried there.
Burnin' Paradise,
Posted 05:51 AM, 11/29/2009
Her ~love canal~ (snickers)
Posted 07:07 AM, 11/29/2009
F.Y.I., suggesting that there exists a "black KKK", is about as absurd as if there existed something called a "white Black Panthers." Quite a leap to think that a toxic ditch clean-up could bring about gangs and muggings. Von and 330, to label them as delusional and paranoid would be an insult to people with real mental disorders. $8 million to L-M is chump change, since they are the largest pigs at the trough of military-industrial-media complex, taxpayer-funded largesse.
mayberry, oh
Posted 07:27 AM, 11/29/2009
@nathan........Marco is better off riding, knowing his history of smartz he was probably packin heat and might have tripped or dropped his gun and some poor parade viewer could have been hurt...and Marco would reply.....I forgot I was packin...or I needed it to get past my drug dealing homies on Copley road......and Marco lets them do business two blocks from his house......god father Summerville
330, oh
Posted 07:50 AM, 11/29/2009
The black panthers are another black K.K.K. The hood-ie gang runs round with hoods as their sheets while committing hate crimes. It's not absurd... you've only say this and hurl your premade insults. Offered nothing of substance. Why wouldn't a park attract them? They infect every other part of Akron.
"to label them as delusional and paranoid would be an insult to people with real mental disorders."
Such as yourself? Haha.
You seem too serious. I bet you're a bore in real life too.
norka, OH
Posted 07:58 AM, 11/29/2009
Really all your comments are not worth commenting on!
Posted 08:02 AM, 11/29/2009
Just what Akron doesn't need ... another park! They don't have the money to sustain the ones they already have. Why does government continue to throw money away on parks? Why don't they just wait until the economy improves and put their money toward the "necessities of life!"
Posted 11:33 AM, 11/29/2009
Ok, 330, oh, I guess you aren't really paranoid, because you believe all black people ARE out to get you! The truth is, you don't really hate all black people, you're just afraid of black people, not much different from when you were a child. It was irrational then, and it is now. But to say "grow up!" wouldn't have any affect on you, because you're stuck on the juvenile delinquent merry-go-round. In real life, bigots are the boring people; they listen to country, and watch nascar and cop shows, which results in a very low intelligence level.
Posted 12:50 PM, 11/29/2009
@ Gain Some Reality: If you are so confident in the clean-up process, then I invite you to live there. I have worked in the chemical industry for years and that stuff is never cleaned up.
Akron, OH
Posted 01:58 PM, 11/29/2009
@Medina Reader, I have also worked in the chemical industry for years. If the guidelines were followed there is no danger to anyone if a park is built there.
To compare this situation to the Love Canal scenario, I question how much you really know about the chemical industry. There situation are not even close in comparison.
akron, oh
Posted 06:45 PM, 11/29/2009
There were far more chemicals at Love Canal. Heck, THAT place was so badly contaminated, that the kids living near it grew up to be Bills' and Steelers' fans.
330, oh
Posted 08:39 PM, 11/29/2009
I never said or implied that I...
1) Believe all black people are out to get me. Simply, the stats are reflected in what I stated.
2) Afraid of black people? I grew up and live in a predominantly black neighborhood. All the decent ones agree with everything I've typed regarding the crime epidemic. Not only am I not afraid of them, I know them better than you.
3) It's not enough that you can't even provide a post with anything near a salient point, but they're flooded with lies; additionally you're playing a wanna be Freud and believe you can analyze my childhood.
4) I don't listen to country, watch nascar, et cetera. Assuming that everyone does who doesn't concur with your world view proves that you're the true bigot. Do you assume all black people listen to gangsta rap and play basketball too? lol
So, for a synoptic glance: you couldn't respond to what I typed, falsely accused me of lie after lie after lie, and accidentally projected and proved you're the real (boring) bigot. Speaking of "growing up"... you are child's play. :o)
