More Whirlpool spin

No one expects a quick outcome to a hazardous chemical spill, made decades ago by Whirlpool Inc., that has leached its way into the working class neighborhood of Fort Smith next to the now idle and empty manufacturing plant.

Trichloroethylene, that confusing 17-letter chemical word, was used as a de-greaser at the plant from 1967 to 1981. Trichloroethylene was found in the soil on the Whirlpool property in 1989. Trichloroethylene was also discovered in test wells having migrated off the site in 2001. Trichloroethylene is still there migrating into property owned by citizens in that modest neighborhood.

So we sit and wait while the chemical migrates further into the soil and ground water in the surrounding neighborhood.

Published reports, indicate, by the time the paper shuffling on a Revised Risk Management Plan submitted by Whirlpool, if accepted by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, is in place, we could all be celebrating next Spring 2014, or beyond.

But last week, Whirlpool officials Jeff Noel and Lee Urke, hurried to meet with top level ADEQ officials in North Little Rock, The City Wire has confirmed.

Those from the state agency were: Hazardous Waste manager, Jay Rich; Geology Supervisor Jim Riggs; Engineering Supervisor Annette Cusher, and long time staff engineer, Mostafa Mehran.

Joining in the 90-minute session were: Greg Gillespie and Tamara House-Knight, both of Environ Corporation, the hired environmental consultant for Whirlpool.

“ADEQ officials haven’t provided Whirlpool a written response to the Revised Risk Management Plan that was submitted on April 8th,” Katherine Benenati, chief of public outreach for the ADEQ, told The City Wire last week. “After reviewing the plan carefully, Department staff still had some questions on the plan and felt more detail could be provided. We discussed the proposed plan in a meeting with Whirlpool officials at ADEQ on April 16. They plan to submit a revised plan to us by close of business on April 24,” she said.

Whirlpool has until this Wednesday, (April 24) to respond to these new ADEQ’s questions asked on April 16.

However, Whirlpool, in an April 8 press release, trumpeted the release of their plan submitted to ADEQ, but never, told the public that ADEQ had additional questions. Those concerns on the plan and its detail came from the state’s Hazardous Waste Manager or the Geology Supervisor, at the environmental watchdog agency.

No one at Whirlpool, nor at ADEQ, notified the City of Fort Smith, Sebastian County elected officials, the Press, or the general public, that anyone it had MORE concerns AFTER reading the Revised Risk Management Plan submitted by the manufacturer.

Also last week, Whirlpool began more spin on the environmental disaster in a news story focused on the impending sale of the 2.19 million square foot building, sitting on 126 industrial acres in Fort Smith. The price tag (sans any clean-up costs) hovers at $19.2 million.

One potential suitor of the property, Asset Solutions Inc., of Concord, Ontario, Canada, suddenly withdrew its purchase offer last fall. Whirlpool says, the TCW contamination had nothing to do withdrawing the offer.

Yeah, right.

Are there talks between Whirlpool and those living in the area affected by the leaching chemical?

Whirlpool spokesman Jeffrey Noel said he and two other Whirlpool employees were talking one-on-one with area property owners about the pollution. Anyone know who these folks were talking to?

No one, in the Fort  Smith community, it seems, is talking about a Whirlpool “buy-out” of contaminated property yet?

In fact, in this latest meeting on a revised action plan, comments about talking with area property owners and selling the property, show us that Whirlpool has already assessed the costs of a clean-up.

Let’s hope they first clean up the contamination and they pay for the clean-up.