Tranguch PowerPoint Presentation

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Tranguch Gasoline Site
Funded by
With help from
Hazleton, PA 1991-2002
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I. Site Facts
II. Site Activities
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• Site Facts

• a. Where is it?
• b. What happened?
• c. Who was involved?

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a. Where is it?
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Tranguch Site
Tranguch Gasoline Site Groundwater Study May
1998 Site Location Map Hazleton, PA. US Army
Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District
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b. What Happened?

• An estimated 50,000 gallons of gasoline leaked
  from underground storage tanks at the Tranguch
  property.
• Investigations were prompted by sporadic odor
  complaints reported to Hazleton City Fire
  Department in September of 1991.
• Cracked sewer lines served as the exposure
  pathway to homes.
• Gasoline contaminated groundwater infiltrated the
  sewer lines, allowing vapors to build and enter
  home via sewer laterals.

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Gasoline Leaks Into Basement
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Lets take a quick look at the Tranguch UST
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Once gas leaked into the ground, how did vapors
get into homes?

• Once gasoline began to leak from the tanks at the
  Tranguch property, it flowed eastward through the
  soil underneath 22nd Street. This is because
• 1. The Tranguch property is up gradient from
  22nd Street.
• 2. Bedrock formations channeled the
  groundwater east, towards Black
• Creek.
• The sewer lines underlying the area are made of
  Terra Cotta, and are cracked and broken, allowing
  contaminated groundwater to enter.
• As the vapors in the sewers built, their only
  escape was into homes connected with a lateral.
  The majority of homes in the site did not have a
  sewer vent-trap, making the lateral a potential
  direct link to the home.
• A total of 402 properties were declared
  potentially affected.

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Looking at the broken line
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Moving through the line
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Rt. 309
22nd Street
Coal Mine
Groundwater Flow
Legend
Elevation (ft)
1555 1550 1545 1540 1535 1525 1520 1515 1510 1505
Tranguchs
Tranguch Gasoline Site Groundwater Study May
1998 Water Table Map from May 1995 US Army
Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District
Well Location
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c. Who is involved?

• Environmental Agencies
• US EPA and the Pennsylvania Department of
  Environmental Protection (PADEP)
• Health Agencies
• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
  Registry (ATSDR) and the Pennsylvania
  Department of Health (PADOH)

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PADEP Involvement

• As of December 17, 1993, PADEP had received odor
  complaints from 48 residents.
• By January 1994, inspections of the sewer system
  in the area indicated that gasoline had
  infiltrated the sanitary sewer system.
• Throughout 1994, PADEP routinely monitored indoor
  air conditions in approximately 48 homes.

• Underground storage tanks from the Tranguch site
  were removed in February 1995. The tanks were
  found to be leaking, and the soil in the tank
  pits was contaminated. Subsequent evaluation by
  PADEP and EPA found that Tranguch was the major
  contributor.
• 5 residential Active Soil Vapor Extraction
  systems and 9 sewer lateral vent traps were
  installed to mitigate vapors.
• .

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How did EPA become involved?

• PADEP requested EPA assistance in characterizing
  the extent of contamination in March of 1996.
  EPA and PADEP became involved in a joint project
  to remediate the site. EPA acted as the lead
  agency with funding from the Oil Pollution Act
  (OPA), and PADEP provided the technical support.
• OPA funding was made available in order to
  prevent contamination from reaching Black Creek,
  which is designated as a navigable water way.

______________________________________
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Health Agencies__________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
_______________

• The Pennsylvania Department of Health (PADOH),
  and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
  Registry (ATSDR), have been instrumental in
  assisting EPA with health related issues on the
  site.
• EPA looked to ATSDR and PADOH for guidance when
  setting the health action levels for the site.
• PADOH also made personnel available for residents
  to ask health related questions.
• __________________________________________________

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• II. Site Activities

• Extensive Site sampling
• Installing remediation systems
• Distributing information and scientific data

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a. Extensive Site Sampling

• Instituted strict screening process to remove any
  internal sources of BTEX from homes before
  sampling
• Over 4,000 indoor air samples collected and
  analyzed
• ERT TAGA Bus screen approx. 150 homes
• Soil gas, groundwater, piezometer samples

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SUMMA Canister
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Trace Atmospheric Gas Analyzer Mobile Laboratory
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Data Acquisition and Reduction Stations
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Trace Atmospheric Gas Analyzer and Gas
Chromatograph
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Gas Chromatograph with Concentrator
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Low Pressure Chemical Ionization Source
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Atmospheric Chemical Ionization Source
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Benzene Levels drop over time

• Installation of sewer vent traps.
• Completion of installation of groundwater
  recovery and soil vapor extraction system.
• Strict adherence to removal of indoor sources of
  benzene.

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Tranguch Site Groundwater Monitoring Wells
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b. Installing Remediation Systems 22nd
Street Trench Section
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Removed Over 28,000 Cubic Yards of Contaminated
Soil
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Vapor Suppressant Foam
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Contaminated Soil Loaded
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Over 11,000 ft. of pipe replaced
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22nd Street Trench Section
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Soil Vapor Collection System.
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Soil Vapor Collection Pump
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Ground Water Collection System.
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Temporary Treatment System
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Underflow Dam
Installed in 1996 to prevent downstream
contamination to Black Creek and Susquehanna
River and removed June 2002.
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After Removal
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Vapors Entering Homes Why we installed vent
traps
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Air Filtration

• 6 Temporary Carbon Units Installed
• 2 Long Term Carbon Units Installed
• 3 Phase II Active Residential SVE Systems
  installed.

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Phase II Residential Soil Vapor Extraction System
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Carbon Air Filtration Unit
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c. Distributing information and scientific data

• Weekly Fact Sheets
• Community Information Center
• Repository Hazleton Public Library

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Community Involvement Issues

• Local elected officials consistently declare site
  a disaster area.
• Group Against Gas citizens group whose goal is
  for a buyout of all homes.
• Community Information Center set up for residents
  to stop by and ask questions.
• 3 Public Meetings, 1 Meeting with Elected
  Officials.

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Individual Property Reports

• Approximately 30 pages.
• Distributed to all property owners and tenants
  within site boundaries.
• Contains sample result data for samples collected
  from property.
• Health conclusion provided by PADOH and ATSDR.

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Media Coverage

• Local TV News WYLN
• Local newspaper Standard Speaker
• Reports at least once a week.

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Residential Signs
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