Investigation of PennDOT’s Shohola stockpile expanded

Allegations of herbicide Agent Orange prompt Level B protections

By SANDY LONG

SHOHOLA, PA — United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials weren’t taking any chances as they began excavating PennDOT’s former stockpile site on Route 6 in Shohola earlier this week. Due to continued allegations that the site may contain the herbicide and defoliant Agent Orange, EPA contractors wore Tyvek suits and special supplied air breathing devices as they commenced additional testing to that completed by PennDOT contractors last fall.

The investigation will include a minimum of five new sites identified as “hot zones,” where various tests will be performed and excavations will occur to a depth of 30 feet, according to EPA on-scene coordinator Richard Fetzer.

An exclusion zone has been established on the property to protect the public, since unnamed sources have repeatedly alleged that Agent Orange, which degrades to dioxin and is linked to various forms of cancer and genetic defects, was stored and disposed of at the site. As a precautionary measure, EPA contractors have been assigned Level B protective gear.

“Our workers do this for a living,” said Fetzer. “We prefer to err on the side of caution and try to limit their exposure to any hazardous materials that may exist.” The EPA identifies four levels of hazardous materials protective gear. Level B consists of Tyvek suits, steel toe shoes, protective gloves, hardhats and special masks with on-demand breathing tubes. Level A is considered the top level of protection.

In conducting the tests, the EPA will utilize various surface geophysics, such as ground-penetrating radar, that provide a means of looking below the soil to see shapes such as buried tanks. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will supply a portable GC/MS unit to allow for onsite analysis of a particular chemical that could be an identifier for Agent Orange.

The EPA investigation will include soil, water and air testing for the presence of pesticides, volatile and semi-volatile organics and metals. Concerns of an oil spill associated with a rail car that may have released between 3,000 to 5,000 gallons of oil while it was stored at the site will also be investigated, according to Fetzer.

The 9.66-acre property, which was leased by PennDOT from the Pennsylvania State Game Commission (PGC) for the past 40 years, has been undergoing testing and cleanup activities since June 2007. According to PennDOT’s community relations coordinator Karen Dussinger, the agency has completed its investigation and made its full report available at its District 4-0 office in Dunmore, as well as through the EPA, DEP and PGC. Total costs of the cleanup to date are approximately $650,000.

Various outcomes are possible at this point, and determining the investigation’s next steps will depend on the test findings, according to Fetzer, who estimated that the testing period is likely to continue for approximately two weeks.

Due to the EPA’s current involvement, the site has been assigned a SuperFund account number although Fetzer said it is highly unlikely that it will end up on the national priority list. Either way, the investigation and remediation are expected to be thorough, said Fetzer. “We’ll see the process through to the end.”