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November 5, 2009

Sampling to begin at Malakoff cleanup site

By Rich Flowers News Editor

Soil sampling is expected to begin next week at an Environmental Protection Agency cleanup site in Malakoff.

Crews working on the Mitchum Street Drum Removal have been removing hazardous liquid, and cutting up metal containers at the former home of Triple B Bumper Manufacturing.

On-site Coordinator Adam Adams said the metal plating process at the business involved the use of acids and other chemicals that were left at the site.

“We should finish removal of the drums this week,” Adams said. “The soil samples will assess ground contamination.”

Testing will also be done on the tin building to see if it will have to be removed, Adams said.

The EPA has also obtained verbal and written agreements to be able to access adjacent property for future soil sampling. Adams estimated that the cleanup crew is at about the half-way point in the project.

According to information from the EPA onsite removal website, the building contained several 55-gallon drums.

Adams said the plating process was used to make bumpers, guitars, wheels and other items “shiny.” The EPA federal report listed nitric acid, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, nickel chloride, chromium plating reagent and calcium hypochlorite among the chemicals contained in the drums.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality notified the EPA National Response Center March 18 of the problems at the location near downtown Malakoff, adjacent to a retail shopping center and a church. The TCEQ report stated that the business had been out of operation for at least eight years.

Adams said the removal contractors arrived at the site on Oct. 5, and began preliminary work on the removal. Vegetation was removed and gravel paths laid.

Adams said air at, and around, the facility was being monitored to ensure the safety of residents in the immediate vicinity.

“Fortunately, everything appears to have been contained,” Adams said.

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