Posts Tagged ‘Precision National Plating Services’

By Erin L. Nissley (Staff Writer)
Published: January 20, 2010

Recent Abingtons News

GLENBURN TWP. – Township supervisors will be sending letters to several federal and state legislators in the coming weeks asking them to shed light on the ongoing cleanup efforts at a former industrial site.

The letter is the latest move for township officials frustrated by what they call a lack of information from the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Environmental Protection about the cleanup of the former Precision National Plating Services site.

Supervisors plan to send letters to U.S. Sens. Arlen Specter and Bob Casey, U.S. Rep. Chris Carney, state Sen. Robert Mellow and state Rep. Jim Wansacz.

“We’re hoping this year, residents will receive a more timely response and more timely action from federal and state agencies,” township solicitor Malcolm MacGregor said.

As far back as 15 years, hexavalent chromium was found in soil and groundwater in Ackerly Creek near the former Precision plant.

The contamination could have begun in the 1950s, when chromium was used to plate locomotive crank shafts. Precision began dumping chromium waste into an unlined lagoon on the site after it bought the plant in 1970, according to EPA officials.

EPA officials said there has been measurable success in reducing contamination levels through injections of calcium polysulfide at several areas at and near the industrial site. But township officials complain that getting updated information on contamination levels from the EPA is difficult.

“I’m hoping (our elected officials) get involved,” said township Supervisor David Jennings. “They might be able to direct or make suggestions to the EPA.”

Contact the writer: enissley@timesshamrock.com

Mary Krewson Abington Journal Correspondent
December 2, 2009

Based on the letters that have been exchanged over the past few weeks regarding a site located in Glenburn Township, a meeting proposed for Dec. 11 at 1 p.m. between federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and township supervisors may prove interesting.

Termed a “stakeholders’ meeting,” the proposed event is closed to the public. And, EPA’s On-Scene Coordinator Neeraj (Raj) Sharma’s Nov. 23 letter to township solicitor Malcolm MacGregor made no mention of a holding the public meeting slated for fall 2009.

Precision National Plating Services, Inc., formerly located at 198 Ackerly Road, according to published reports, released hexavalent chromium into nearby ground and water sources for decades while it manufactured toxic materials used in plating, dyes, pigments, leather tanning and wood preserving.

According to an EPA web site, hexavalent chromium “dissolves easily in water and can trickle deeply into ground water” and may cause cancer.

The round of letters started when Glenburn township resident and supervisor-elect David Jennings wrote Precision’s attorney, Kevin Quinn of Scranton, in Auguststating that he and his wife would like to build a home on property he owns next to the former Precision site.

Jennings wrote that in developing he had two alternatives: to drill a deep well and pray the contamination site did not migrate into his well and contaminate the deep aquifer or to have a public water line extended to his property at Precision’s expense.

Jennings’ letter drew a sharp response from Quinn.

In a letter dated Sept. 4, Quinn stated to Jennings, “I have discussed with Precision your email request of Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009 and have been instructed to advise you that Precision is unwilling to bear the expense of extending the public water line to service the property you now own that is located immediately adjacent to the former lagoon on the Precision site.”

Quinn also stated, “Precision has asked me to relay the fact that you and your wife will be held legally accountable if you cause or undertake any action on your property, including but not limited to construction of a well, that in any way, shape or form exacerbates or otherwise alters the current environmental state of the Precision site or surrounding properties.”

Following Quinn’s letter was a letter to Jennings dated Oct. 7 from Sharma.

In that letter to Jennings, Sharma stated, “First, EPA would be concerned about any deep excavation on your property, as you have described, that you may be planning. EPA has sampling results down to 18 inches on or near the property that do not show chromium contamination; however EPA has no information about soil deeper than that.”

He continued, “Also, EPA would be concerned about likely chromium contamination in shallow groundwater which may infiltrate into a deeper excavation such as the one you are planning.

“Any attempt to de-water the excavation could exacerbate a release of hazardous substances into the environment and you may be liable for the release of hazardous substances into the environment. ”

The supervisors were not pleased with Sharma’s letter to Jennings and directed their solicitor to tell him. MacGregor wrote, “Frankly, Raj, the Supervisors were not pleased with the tone of the letter inasmuch as it does not even address the long outstanding inquiry of Mr. Jennings for EPA to compel Precision National Plating to pay for his waterline hookup.

“Rather, the correspondence focuses more on the potential liability of Mr. Jennings for simply seeking to lawfully develop his property. Absent from the letter is any reference whatsoever to the culpability if Precision National Plating for creating this situation and why they should not be made to pay for water hookups for Mr. Jennings and others under the Administrative Order.”

MacGregor also stated that “we would hope that EPA would take the position that if a resident landowner who had nothing to do with contaminating the groundwater inadvertently caused some expansion of the contamination, that EPA would aggressively go after Precision National Plating, the offending polluter, rather than the landowner.”

MacGregor continued, “The supervisors feel strongly that they do not want there to be a perception in the community or within EPA that residents like Mr. Jennings, who have difficult and persistent questions out of concern for the safety of their family or community, are treated any differently than other residents affected by Precision National Plating’s hexavalent chromium contamination of the adjacent area.”

Jennings agrees.

He said he is also concerned about other residents in Glenburn Township, such as those who live along Old State Road if the contamination should migrate there. Jennings added that under the court mandated Administrative Order, Precision has a responsibility to extend a public water line to any properties that are found to be contaminated.

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By Erin L. Nissley (Staff Writer)
Published: January 10, 2010

GLENBURN TWP. – As federal officials tout big decreases in contamination at a former industrial site, officials and residents are upset about the continued lack of information available about the cleanup.

“There’s a lot of frustration,” Glenburn solicitor Malcolm MacGregor said. “All we want is more information.”

Just under a year ago, several areas in and near the former Precision National Plating Services site were injected with calcium polysulfide to decrease the levels of hexavalent chromium that has leached into the soil, groundwater and Ackerly Creek.

Federal officials have said the levels of contaminants decreased significantly after the injections. Now, they are awaiting the completion of two reports that will help plot the next steps in the cleanup.

Residents and supervisors say they are not being provided with updated information about contamination levels and the cleanup’s progress. The lack of information fuels their concern about possible contamination still lurking underground and whether a public water source is necessary for those living near the former plant.

Cleanup progressing

The contamination at the 45-acre site could have begun as early as the 1950s, when chromium was used to plate locomotive crank shafts.

Precision bought the plant in 1970 and began dumping the chromium waste into an unlined lagoon on the site, according to EPA site coordinator Raj Sharma.

In 1994, water from private drinking wells on Arch Avenue tested positive for chromium contamination. Four years later, the Environmental Protection Agency issued an administrative order that held Precision responsible for cleaning up the site.

Precision closed the plant in 1999 and the building was demolished in 2000.

Injections of calcium polysulfide completed in early 2009 have been successful at decreasing the contamination levels in the soil and groundwater at and near the site, Mr. Sharma said.

In 2006, contamination in the soil was measured at 600 parts per million. But after the injections, those levels came down to 15 parts per million, which is 45 parts per million less than the federal maximum allowed.

Levels of contamination in parts of Ackerly Creek are still much higher than federal limits, though. One portion of the creek tested at 290 parts per billion in September 2006. Nine months after the injections, though, the same site found contaminant levels of 28.5 parts per billion, which exceeds the federal maximum of 11 parts per billion, Mr. Sharma said.

Glenburn Twp. officials and residents have criticized the EPA for not releasing enough information and for not keeping their Web site updated with current test results.

Mr. Sharma said the EPA is releasing information to residents and supervisors, most recently at a meeting last month open only to residents who lived near the former Precision site and township officials.

Glenburn resident and newly elected township supervisor David Jennings, a vocal critic of the ongoing cleanup efforts, said EPA officials talked about information at that meeting that even they could not find on the Web site when asked about it.

“This has been an issue for years,” Mr. Jennings said. “They say it’s on the Web site and it’s not. Or it is for a few days and then it’s taken down.”

Reports coming soon

There is more progress on the horizon, which Mr. Sharma said will be announced to residents and elected officials as it is available.

By February, Precision will submit a report to EPA officials outlining the next step in the cleanup process, including what they plan to do to continue decreasing contamination levels in Ackerly Creek. EPA officials will review the report before deciding to approve it, Mr. Sharma said, and may be made available for public viewing as early as March.

The EPA is also working on a report outlining options for longterm solutions to the groundwater contamination, Mr. Sharma said.

Precision has been resistant to the idea of providing a public water source to residents who live near the site, and Mr. Sharma said he is not yet sure that doing so would be necessary.

After that document is complete, Mr. Sharma said the EPA will hold a public meeting held to answer questions and address concerns, he added.

That report may answer lingering questions about whether Precision should or will provide an alternate water source for people who live close to the contamination.

Township officials said the EPA has been vague about whether it is safe to develop any property near the former Precision site, advising them to restrict development but not giving any direction as to how, where or why.

Because the EPA has provided no reasons why development should be restricted, township supervisor Bill Wicks said he and other officials have no clear path to follow when deciding whether to approve any development proposals in the areas near the contaminated site.

“(The EPA) say they think it’s a bad idea but they can’t really say why,” Mr. Wicks said. “So we’re going to landowners and basically forced to say they can’t develop their property. It’s not something I take lightly.”

Because of all the questions about the continued safety of the drinking water, township officials said they want EPA to force Precision to provide a public water source as soon as possible.

“I’d like to see a water line within the next six months,” Mr. Jennings said. “The EPA (has) the legal power to force Precision to provide one.”

Contact the writer: enissley@timesshamrock.com
Copyright © 2010 The Scranton Times Tribune

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