CONNEAUT —
Contaminants found in the soil that was the site of an electronics plant will require more than $1 million and at least two years to fully eliminate, city officials said at a Monday night meeting of City Council’s economic development committee.
At issue is property bordered in part by Broad, Jackson and Harbor streets that once contained Astatic Corp., which for decades manufactured microphones and other electronics gear.
The factory closed more than 20 years ago and the building was demolished, but an analysis by a brownfield study consultant has detected two substances in a “plume” that encompasses the factory’s footprint, said Ward 1 Councilman Doug Hedrick, committee chairman.
One of the substances is trichloroethane, which is a solvent, and the other is vinyl chloride, a polymer used to create polyvinyl chloride.
The former is a “fairly common” substance that is “relatively inert and not an area of concern” to the consultant, Hedrick said.
The latter, however, poses the “primary concern,” he said.
The consultant, which specializes in cleaning up old industrial sites, is “fairly confident” the Astatic land can be successfully scrubbed, Hedrick said.
A study of the contamination shows it lies beneath the land that once held the factory. Astatic property to the west, near Broad Street, is untouched. Some of the pollution has spread into residential property on the other side of Jackson Street, but residents are in no danger because they are not directly exposed and they receive municipal water service, officials said.
Still, the substances pose a problem that must be resolved quickly, council was told.
“This is common in industrial areas,” said Law Director David Schroeder. “But the situation needs to be addressed.”
The substances were identified and the spread pinpointed via a second phase of work by TRC, the brownfield specialists hired by the city through a grant. Cleanup consists of injecting a special solution into the earth that can neutralize the pollutants, Schroeder said. Cost of the work could exceed $1 million, and take about a year to complete, followed by another year to gauge if the work was successful, Schroeder said.
The contaminants complicate the city’s plans for the property. The Astatic was demolished at the city’s expense — about $263,000 at the time — when the owner Broad and Jackson LLC, balked at correcting safety concerns with the abandoned, hulking building.
The city wants to be reimbursed its cost, but foreclosure and bankruptcy proceedings have resulted in years of legal wrangling. The city has placed liens on the property.
TRC officials have strongly recommended the city not acquire the Astatic property until the contamination problem is resolved, Schroeder said. Municipal ownership would thwart efforts to secure federal grants that could pay the entire cost of cleaning the site, he said.
TRC is moving ahead with the grant application, council learned.
A developer working on behalf of a larger company has expressed interest in about one acre of the Astatic property. The city will check to see if some of the pollution-free land can be peeled away and offered for sale without jeopardizing the cleanup grant.
Click here to subscribe to The Star Beacon print edition.
Click here to subscribe to The Star Beacon replica edition.
