Public meeting planned on Nease plant cleanup

By D.A. Wilkinson

The latest cleanup effort may cost $3.8 million

SALEM — The next stage of the cleanup of the Nease Chemical Co. will be discussed at an upcoming public meeting, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said.

The agency will propose several plans before making a decision on what it will do, Susan Pastor, a U.S. EPA community involvement coordinator, said Friday.

The hearing will be at 6:30 p.m. July 31 at Salem Public Library, 821 E. State St.

The step is the latest in the ongoing cleanup that began in the 1970s after Nease buried the chemical mirex in unlined ponds on the property, which went into water and soil.

Nease made household cleaners, fire retardants and pesticides that contained the chemical, which can cause damage to the skin, liver and the nervous and reproductive systems.

The closed plant is on 44 acres on state Route 14 north of Salem. Most of the property is in Columbiana County, but some is in Mahoning County.

The estimated cost of what appears to be the best option for the latest work proposed by the federal agency is $3.8 million.

Mary Logan, the remedial project manager for the U.S. EPA, said in 2007 that two of the ponds at the plant contained “the worst of the worst.” She was unavailable to comment Friday.

The proposed action rates high for overall protection and long- and short-term effectiveness. It also can be done, according to the EPA.

The plan calls for removal of contaminated sediment in Flood Creek, which runs through the plant site and into the Middle Fork of Little Beaver Creek. The proposal also plans for the removal of contaminants in the sediment in Middle Fork, and removal of most of the contaminated surface soil in the lowlands along the creek.

The contaminated silt would be moved by dredging or hydraulic suction. The silt and soil would be buried at the Nease site.

After the meeting, the EPA will decide what to do. That decision also will include talks with state environmental officials.

One option — to do nothing — was not considered, Pastor said.

Since 2007, federal workers have been using different techniques to remove the mirex in the ground at the former plant.

Information on the plans will be at the Salem and Lisbon libraries. People can also get more information or comment either by calling Pastor by July 24 at (800) 621-8431, Ext. 31325, or by e-mailing her at pastor.susan@epa.gov.

The company is owned by Rutgers Organics Co. of Germany, which is paying for the cleanup. The amount of the work so far isn’t determined, and Rutgers isn’t required to release the information, Pastor said.

The company “has been very conscientious” in the cleanup, Pastor added.

wilkinson@vindy.com