THE polychlorinated biphenyl treatment unit in Tanapag resumed operations on Saturday, following the conditional approval of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Due to a Feb. 16 accident that resulted in the death of a worker, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stopped the operations of the indirect thermal desorption unit which is used to treat PCB-contaminated soil.
After two months of non-operation, the ITD unit started treating hundreds of tons of PCB-tainted soil, according to Frank Ono of the Army Corps.
“So far, the operation looks good,” Ono told Variety yesterday.
Gov. Juan N. Babauta met with representatives of EPA, the Army Corps and Environmental Chemical Corp. on Monday to get an update on the PCB cleanup project.
In issuing the three-page approval on April 20, EPA on-scene coordinator Michelle Rogow said the implementation of the revised health and safety procedures and the control of fugitive particulates are critical to the conditional and future operations of the ITD unit.
“If these measures do not adequately control the fugitive dust, additional measures must be taken promptly, and to our satisfaction, in order for us to allow continued operations,” Rogow said in a letter to Charles Adams, project manager of the Army Corps’ Honolulu District.
Rogow said while the health and safety plan for the site is the Army Corps’ responsibility, the safety of workers conducting the cleanup is also an EPA concern.
“EPA is encouraged that the revised health and safety plan recommends implementation of changes on the day to day operations at the site to ensure that further accidents at the site are avoided,” Rogow said.
She added, “EPA is confident that the ITD system can be operated in a safe and efficient manner, and cleanup operations at the site can resume.”
The approval is in accordance with the “final proof of performance test control protocol” in January as modified on Feb. 2, and with the amended work plan phase IV.
EPA also wants Army Corps to continuously assess PCB and particulate emissions until a revised air monitoring plan is approved.
Rogow said EPA will conduct an assessment of the effectiveness of dust control and implementation of additional safety measures at the PCB treatment site once the operations resume.
The final approval of the ITD unit will depend on the completion of the site specific risk assessment, and the operation of the equipment as outlined in the work plan and site safety plan, she said. The dust control and automatic waste feed shut off conditions should also be met, she added.
