Thu Mar 18 2010
by Eric Marotta
News Leader Editor
Boston Heights -- Contractors may be in the last stages of a hazardous waste cleanup that has been under way since 2005.
Despite having removed more than 200,000 tons of contaminated soil from the former Krejci salvage yard off Hines Hill Road at Interstate 271, testing completed over the summer showed still more contaminated dirt had to be removed, according to Kevin Skerl, spokesperson for the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
The park has owned the 47 acre property since 1980. The cleanup, which had been estimated to cost $30 million, is being paid for by Ford Motor Co. under an agreement with the National Park Service as part of a legal settlement.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Ford was among several companies sued by the government in 1997 under the Superfund law over contamination at the Krejci site. While Ford agreed to cover the cost of cleanup, the government also reached settlements worth $21 million in cash, $15.5 million of which came from 3M Corp.
While contractors have cleared what is believed to be all remaining contamination on the property east of I-271, work clearing contamination west of the interstate began this month and is expected to continue through the winter, Skerl said.
After that, hopefully by spring, the site will be rechecked for contamination, he added.
The cleanup, which the park service determined is necessary to restore the land to its natural condition and to protect downstream water quality, began in 2005 and continued through late 2007, when the land was retested to determine if all contaminated soil had been removed. The testing determined much of the site still contained large amounts of contaminated soil, Skerl said.
He added it is impossible to say how much soil remains to be removed. He previously said the initial cleanup removed from 6 inches to 25 feet deep of dirt in some areas.
Once the second phase of cleanup is completed and testing shows no further contamination, contractors will regrade and replant the area to become a part of the park, Skerl said.
According to the park service, the site was operated by the Krejci family as a dump and salvage yard from around 1950 until 1980.
The site became part of Cuyahoga Valley National Park in 1980, but remained under the control of the Krejci family until 1985.
In 1986-87, the park service determined that the site constituted a hazard. Skerl said contaminants discovered after the park service assumed ownership of the property included heavy metals, pesticides, dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls and other organic toxins.
During the initial, two-year cleanup, about 40 truckloads of soil were removed every day, Skerl said. He said the material was taken to landfills in Ohio and Detroit.
"We assumed the project would be done in three years, but that didn't happen," Skerl said.
E-mail: emarotta@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3171
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