PITTSBURGH Company, state are near deal for cleanup

Millions of gallons of oil have leeched into the soil at the plant.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- An agreement may be reached by the end of the year between the state and a chemical company on cleanup efforts at Neville Island, just outside Pittsburgh.
The Department of Environmental Protection has been trying for 23 years to get Neville Chemical Co. to clean up a 67-acre site on the island.
An estimated 7.5 million gallons of oil has leeched into the soil and groundwater from the site, said John Matviya, the state Department of Environmental Protection regional manager of environmental cleanup.
The oil is used in the 78-year-old chemical company's hydrocarbon resin manufacturing processes, state and company officials say. The oil contains toxic chemicals including benzene, toluene, xylene and naphthalene.
"It still is what I would call a stopgap measure," Matviya told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "It addresses the current problem without really doing the long-term cleanup."
Substantial costs
Jack Ferguson, Neville Chemical vice president of manufacturing and plant manager, would not estimate the company's cleanup costs other than to say they will be substantial.
The DEP has not estimated cleanup costs, which would vary greatly based on methods used, but could cost at least several million dollars, Matviya said.
A portion of the site has been cleared and most of the oil underground has been contained, he said.
Neville Chemical has been combatting the gravitational pull by pumping the oil and contaminated water, Matviya said.
Between 1980 and 1990, Neville Chemical pumped about 750,000 gallons of oil from beneath its property, Ferguson said.
Gravity pulls the oil toward the main channel of the Ohio River. Without containment measures, the oil would flow at an accelerated and steadier rate into the river.