All News Releases By Date

U.S. EPA PROPOSES PLAN FOR GROUNDWATER CLEANUP AT MODESTO SITE

Release Date: 7/24/1997
Contact Information: Lois Grunwald, U.S. EPA, (415) 744-1588

     (San Francisco)-- In efforts to halt the spread of contaminated groundwater, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has proposed a plan to remove an industrial solvent from groundwater at the Modesto Groundwater Contamination Superfund site in Modesto, Calif.

     "It's important that this water be cleaned up to eliminate the possibility that it will contaminate the city of Modesto's drinking water," said Keith Takata, U.S. EPA's Superfund director.

     The public is invited to attend a community meeting and comment on the plan on Tuesday, July 29, 1997, at 7 p.m. at the Modesto Senior Citizens Center, 211 Bodem St., Modesto, Calif.
     
     U.S. EPA plans to set up an extraction and treatment system that will remove tetrachloroethene (PCE) from groundwater, and PCE vapors from soil just above the groundwater table.

     The plan involves installing a well near Halford's Cleaners on McHenry Avenue, where the contamination is highest, and treating it with an air stripper and activated carbon filter system. Pending approval of a groundwater discharge permit by the city of Modesto, treated groundwater would be discharged to the city's sewer system. The PCE soil vapors will be removed and treated with a carbon filter system. U.S. EPA will monitor the effectiveness of the groundwater cleanup to determine if further groundwater cleanup is necessary.

     In 1990, U.S. EPA issued an order to Halford's Cleaners to remove the most contaminated soil from the site, which the firm did.

      The Modesto Superfund Site was placed on the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) in 1989. The NPL is U.S. EPA's list of hazardous waste sites potentially posing the greatest long-term threat to public health and the environment. U.S. EPA identifies and ranks NPL sites according to threats to nearby populations through actual or potential contamination of groundwater, surface water or air.

     Oral or written comments on the proposed plan must be made
or postmarked by August 13, 1997, and sent to:  

     Michelle Schutz, Remedial Project Manager
     U.S. EPA, Mailcode SFD-7-2
     75 Hawthorne St.
     San Francisco, Calif. 94105
     (415) 744-2393  

                               
                           #   #   #