FORT SMITH - A revised plan submitted by Whirlpool Corp. to the state environmental department Wednesday does not change the company’s intent to rely on natural decomposition to get rid of a hazardous chemical in groundwater under a neighborhood adjacent to the closed Fort Smith plant.
As stated in the plan submitted to the ArkansasDepartment of Environmental Quality on April 8, the company plans to try to chemically neutralize the 50-by-250-foot pool of trichloroethylene under the northwest corner of the company’s plant but will rely on monitoring of natural decomposition of the chemical and restrict access by deed restrictions or ordinances to the groundwater under the 35-home neighborhood north of thecompany property.
Fort Smith city directors earlier this month rejected an ordinance proposed by Whirlpool to ban the drilling of water wells in the neighborhood. They passed a resolution calling on the department and Whirlpool to work as quickly as possible to clean up the contamination under the neighborhood.
Whirlpool and department officials have said the trichloroethylene is not a hazard to the neighborhood residents as long as they do not drink it or come in contact with the contaminated groundwater.
The plan states that reducing the largest mass of the chemical on company property though chemical oxidation would reduce the amount of chemical migrating into the adjacent neighborhood and accelerate its decomposition.
The plan submitted Wednesday was in response to an Environmental Quality Department request for additional information on the April 8 plan.
Department spokesman Katherine Benenati said Thursday that the department staff was still reviewing the plan and was not in a position to comment on the revised plan Thursday. She said additional information was requested for sections throughout the plan.
Whirlpool spokesman Kristine Vernier said in an e-mail Thursday that the revised plan included more detail, background and clarity on technical information regarding the proposed corrective measures.
She said it:
Explained where and why Whirlpool was using chemical oxidation on the company property.
Provided additional background to justify the remediation measures proposed.
Described the science behind the plans to “make a substantial impact of greatly diminishing the contaminate levels at the end of a five year period.”
One section of the plan described how the chemical was used in Whirlpool’s operation.
From 1967 to 1981, the trichloroethylene was used to clean metal refrigerator parts before assembly. The operation was in a degreaser building near the the main manufacturing building’s northwest corner, where the greatest concentration of the chemical lies under the ground.
The metal parts were placed on a rack over a tank of trichloroethylene. The chemical was heated and the vapor would rise and cover the parts in the rack. When the degreasing was finished, the chemical was condensed and would drop back into the tank.
The plan stated that there were no historical records that documented any spill or other release of the chemical from the degreaser building.
Benenati said earlier that once department officials review the plan and decide on a remedy, they will set up a plan and timetable for implementation. A 30-day comment period will follow during which a public hearing on the plan would be held if requested, she said.
Department officials told city directors earlier that it could take the rest of the year before a plan is approved.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 04/26/2013