Olin
’s new plan to build an intricate leaching system to treat the
perchlorate contaminating its former road flare factory site in
Morgan Hill has raised some concerns – and justifiably so.
Olin’s new plan to build an intricate leaching system to treat the perchlorate contaminating its former road flare factory site in Morgan Hill has raised some concerns – and justifiably so.
The problem is that the soil at the now-closed factory has tested for perchlorate at levels of 13,000 parts per billion – and the contaminated soil is 15 feet deep. Because the water table at the site sometimes rises to within seven feet of the surface, in some spots, the water table is “percholating” through eight feet of highly contaminated soil. The places where high water tables intersect with high perchlorate levels have been dubbed ‘hot spots’ by some perchlorate-watchers.
Olin’s new plan, which calls for using a leaching system instead of excavating the soil at the site, needs approval by the state’s water quality control board. When the proposal comes before them Sept. 12 at a hearing in San Luis Obispo, we urge regulators to take a close look at the leaching proposal, keeping in mind the danger posed to our water supply by the hot spots.
Perhaps a combined approach – excavating hot spots and installation of the leaching system – would be the best method to stem the tide of further perchlorate contamination of South Valley’s water. It certainly seems to make the most common sense.
We encourage all South Valley residents and elected officials to keep a close eye on the clean-up proposals for the Olin site – the acknowledged source of the perchlorate plume snaking through South Valley’s water supply.
It is incumbent upon the members of the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board to carefully evaluate Olin’s clean-up proposals and to press for a speedy, thorough remediation of the perchlorate contamination. It’s the least this community deserves.
Readers should also make their concerns about the Olin plan known to the members of the water board. They are: Leslie S. Bowker, Bruce K. Daniels, John H. Hayashi, Russell M. Jeffries, Daniel M. Press, Marco L. Rizzo, Gary C. Shallcross, Donald A. Villeneuve, Jeffrey S. Young. They can be reached via U.S. mail at 895 Aerovista Place, Suite 101, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 The water board’s telephone number is (805) 549-3147.
