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Press Release

Drake Chemical

UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
REGION III- OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS AND GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
1650 Arch Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103-2029
Phone - 215/814-5100 Fax - 215/814-5102

EPA Environmental News
March 6, 1998

For immediate release

For further information, contact:
Fran Burns, EPA Reg 3
717-748-0873, or
215-814-3245

Drake Cleanup Team Suspends Treatment to Review Its Dust Concerns

LOCK HAVEN, PA -- After a day and a half of treating contaminated soils from the former Drake Chemical site, the Drake Cleanup Team suspended the feed of contaminated soils into the incinerator in order to review how it is handling cleaned soil, with an eye to fully eliminating steam-borne dust particles.

As cleaned soil exits the incinerator at very high temperatures, it is sprayed with a water mist to cool it down for handling. The water is converted naturally into steam, but technicians are concerned that some particles of cleaned soil are carried into the air by the steam and are being left in the air as dust. Technicians from OHM Remediation Services Corp., the contrator operating the site, along with oversight inspectors from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PaDEP) determined Thursday afternoon that the steam was carrying dust into the air, and they wanted to correct the situation before continuing with hazardous soil treatment.

When modifications are made to the processed soil cool-down system, the incinerator will resume operations using clean soil, brought in from off site, until the Cleanup Team is convinced that the dust situation has been resolved. No firm timetable is available, but the Team anticipates resuming full operation within a matter of days.

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