Whirlpool Corp. submitted a supplemental work plan earlier this month to the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality that includes the removal of 300 cubic yards of dirt from its trichloroethylene-contaminated property in Fort Smith.
Jeff Noel, Whirlpool corporate vice president, said the plan will accelerate the work process while increasing effectiveness.
The proposed plan calls for soil removal, placement of limestone backfill and the injection of a neutralizing chemical into the ground, Noel said. He said the proposed plan is to be used in conjunction with a plan already approved by the Department of Environment Quality.
Whirlpool discovered a zone of soil on the northwest portion of its 153-acre property late last year that was highly contaminated with trichloroethylene. The contamination was found in a trench area near a building where the chemical was used to degrease parts.
"Whirlpool was manufacturing on that site long before TC was identified as a product that should not be used," Noel said. "It was a common cleaning product."
The company used the chemical from 1967-81. It discovered that the chemical had leaked into the ground in 1989. Company officials found that the chemical had seeped into groundwater under a nearby neighborhood in 2000.
Oxidizing chemicals have already been pumped into the ground at several locations on the Whirlpool property to neutralize the contamination. Noel said the company has been collecting data throughout the process. Data collected last year alerted officials to the high levels of contamination 25-30 feet deep in the northwest corner of the property.
"It is certainly a situation that if we can get in there and treat the site, it helps improve the overall environment and improve the condition of the entire site," Noel said. "This area is on our property, and it is in the soil but we believe that doing this remedy will help booster the work that we are doing off our site."
Fort Smith City Director Kevin Settle said city officials have been asking Whirlpool to remove dirt from the northwest portion of land for more than a year.
"You have to fix that spot before you can fix anything else," Settle said. "I advocated that they dig up that area, and I was told that it wasn't cost-effective and it wouldn't work, and now here we are."
Settle said he is happy to see that the company is proposing that the dirt be removed going forward.
Noel said the soil will be removed and then transported to a licensed landfill. Crushed limestone will be used to naturally adjust pH levels, he said.
"It is a great natural way of helping us address the site," Noel said.
The limestone also will allow chemical treatments to reach contaminated spots easier, Noel said. He said this will quicken the entire cleanup process. The entire process should take eight to nine weeks after approval from the Department of Environmental Quality, he said.
"That is what we heard the residents and Fort Smith directors wanted," Noel said. "We are trying to be able to get on this site and finish this work as soon as it is approved and get it completed in a short period of time."
Metro on 09/18/2014