Perchlorate cleanup could begin as early as Feb.
BARSTOW • Environmental Protection Agency officials say they are strategizing with local officials to organize cleanup of soil contaminated with perchlorate said to be the root cause of water contamination discovered in 2010.
According to William Duncan III with the EPA, the cleanup could start as early as February depending on what strategies are determined to be most effective. The EPA will be discussing the cleanup with area agencies, including the Barstow City Council and the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board.
In Nov. 2010, Golden State Water Company discovered one of their wells close to the Soapmine Road area was contaminated with perchlorates — a substance often used in the production of fireworks, rocket fuel and road flares. The affected well is no longer in operation.
The EPA recently released a study showing perchlorate concentration levels were high in the soil of property formerly owned by Mojave River Pyrotechnics Company. Owners of the company, which ceased operation in the ’80s, are believed to have illegally dumped chemicals containing perchlorate salts on the property.
Starting in December 2010, the EPA’s team sampled soil from 25.5 acres of the former pyrotechnics facility and the owner’s nearby residence at 30433 Poplar Street. The soil had concentrations of perchlorate as high as 130,000 milligrams per kilogram at the former residence, much higher than the site specific background level of 55 mg/kg. The EPA also sampled nearby groundwater and found concentrations of 110,000 micrograms per liter.
However, the report says no perchlorate contamination was found at the former pyrotechnics manufacturing facility.
Duncan said there are several cleanup options the team is looking at. One option is to remove the soil in areas with highest concentration. This would reduce the leaching of perchlorates into the groundwater. Another option is to treat the soil, rather than remove it.
If the groups decide upon removal of contaminated soil the cleanup could begin in February, Duncan said. If they decide to treat the soil the process is lengthy and could take more time to prepare before cleanup begins.
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