Whirlpool says Fort Smith pollution plume ‘continues to decrease’

A Whirlpool Corporation executive and one of its hired environmental consultants told the Fort Smith Board of Directors Tuesday (Oct. 14) that a third round of chemical oxidation treatments would commence at the end of October. The third round comes after the first two rounds that occurred in March, May and June of this year.

Company officials also updated the Board on settlement talks with homeowners.

The chemical oxidation treatments planned for later this month will occur in a section of the TCE plume known as "Area 1," near the northwest corner of the Whirlpool plant where degreasing using the potentially cancer causing chemical trichloroethylene (TCE) was used until the 1980s, according to consultant Michael Ellis, a principal with ENVIRON. The company has been hired by Whirlpool to handle its remediation of land impacted by TCE in the groundwater and soil on and near the company's shuttered south Fort Smith plant.

During the period when injections will occur, Ellis said between 12,000 and 15,000 gallons of chemical oxidation solution will be pumped into the contaminated ground in an effort to break down the TCE and hopefully return the soil and groundwater to what could be considered “normal.”

As part of the effort, Ellis noted that the company had removed 300 cubic yards of impacted soil and moved it to an off-site disposal location. In its place, the company used crushed limestone backfill "in order to enhance natural attenuation of TCE in groundwater beneath Area 1, and provide a platform for potential future activities," Ellis explained during his Board presentation.

Ellis said even though there has been a suggestion by the Board that the company do more soil removal, he said it simply was not warranted.

"For all soil removal in Area 1. As we've discussed, it won't have an impact on groundwater migrating from Ingersoll Road to the north (where a residential neighborhood sits on the TCE plume). Area 1 is further to the south and that impact is migrating to the south. This work in Area 1 does not impact the groundwater that migrated to the north.”

Removal of large amounts of soil could also put the Whirlpool structures and others in danger of damage or collapse, including an electric sub-station in the area, he said. Ellis also said that despite an assertion from ADEQ that the TCE plume could be growing, levels of TCE were decreasing in the opinion of ENVIRON.

"The TCE concentration in the plume continues to decrease. That's based upon quarterly monitoring that we've been performing. However, there are some changes in specific locations with the variability of the locations and the variability of where the plume exist. But overall, if you look at the entire groundwater plume, it's stable and we're starting to see overall decreases in the TCE concentrations.”

In all, Ellis said 202 membrane interface probes are in place to screen soil and groundwater, as well as 62 soil probes for soil and groundwater sampling and 86 monitoring wells sampled quarterly. He also said five temporary boundary wells had been installed to monitor expansion, or lack thereof, of the TCE plume. Ellis said northeast corner monitoring was also taking place near the Boys and Girls Club of Fort Smith, where TCE concentrations have been above acceptable levels.

Jeff Noel, vice president of public relations for Whirlpool, told The City Wire that monitoring was taking place in the area, which includes a road project set to begin that would add lanes to Ingersoll Road. The challenge in doing monitoring, he said, is ADEQ has requested the monitors be installed where the road work will be taking place.

"Where they are talking about, no (monitoring will be taking place) until maybe is there another location that achieves the same end. But scientifically, we can get the same data with dispersement of the other wells. So it's not as if there's not data," he said, adding that the city was cooperative with the testing in the construction zone, but said it is just a challenge to achieve the goals of ADEQ while the city is trying to do a major construction project in the area.

Additional monitoring will take place through the use of vapor monitoring, Noel said, with Whirlpool offering some residents $10,000 to allow vapor monitors to be installed on their property. He added that "no release of any claims against Whirlpool will be required.”

The testing would include indoor air monitoring, slab and crawl space monitoring, as well as soil monitoring just above the groundwater level.

Noel also provided further details of a proposed settlement offered to property owners in a class action lawsuit, noting that the company was offering to pay 100% of the devaluation amount for properties impacted by the TCE plume, plus 33% of that total and all costs associated with achieving the settlement.

In return, property owners would release Whirlpool of all property claims and allow for reasonable testing and monitoring on property and allow a deed restriction on drilling to be placed on impacted properties. Noel said it would allow property owners to reclaim as much as 75.7% of the original tax appraised value of the properties before Sebastian County Tax Assessor Becky Yandell lowered property values in the TCE plume. According to information Noel said was compiled by Whirlpool, typical TCE settlements only recover 20% of property values.

The settlement is under consideration U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes III of the U.S. Western District Court of Arkansas in Fort Smith.