Atofina: On-Scene Soil Removal & Replacement - Details Announced

Another step in this process is removal of some soil in the area that was affected by the fire of July 14. We will do this work with the same concern for the safety of our workers and our neighbors that we have had as part of our efforts to restart the plant.

On, or about, September 10 a temporary building will be constructed over the area of the rail siding where the two tank cars were at the time of the accident. This tent-like structure will be 95 feet long, 32 feet wide and 32 feet high. The purpose of this enclosure is to contain any nuisance odors that may be released from the soil as it is removed. The air inside this building will be continually circulated through activated carbon filters to remove any organic materials that may be present. The soils will be loaded into sealed trucks and taken to a facility designed to handle this type of material.

The soil removal process will take about three days and involve about 20 trucks of material removed. This is scheduled to begin on either September 15 or 17. After the removal, fresh soil will be brought in to replace that taken out. The enclosure will be in place for a total of about three weeks.

This operation will be very similar to the drum removal project which was done in the area near the former brine field in 1995. The temporary building is to prevent odors which are in the soil from being offensive to our neighbors.

We want to assure you that there is no health hazard involved in this project. But since the odors are noticeable at extremely low levels, we are taking precautions to prevent them from reaching the surrounding community.