Class action suit targets benzene spill

Vapor intrusion can harm people's health
and property values, a lawsuit claims.

Toxic vapors entering homes and buildings are not only damaging to human health, they can also hurt property values, according to one recently filed lawsuit.

 Three law firms have filed a class action lawsuit in Madison County, alleging a 1986 Shell Oil Co. benzene spill and intrusion into residences have damaged the groundwater and reduced the value of people's homes.

Property values have dropped, and residents cannot sell their homes, leaving them "trapped in their homes," the suit claims.

Most previous lawsuits involving chemical or benzene spills have concentrated on seeking damages for serious health effects, including cancer.

This lawsuit claims that benzene and other poisonous hydrocarbons have contaminated the groundwater and the soil underneath the village of Roxana. This plume of toxins has destroyed the value of the real estate in Roxana and has placed in serious jeopardy the health of Roxana's residents, it says.

The benzene in the groundwater exposes the Roxana residents to benzene vapor intrusion into their homes, attorney Chris Dysart said.

The complaint alleges that among the toxic chemicals released, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency documented the release of 8,400 gallons of pure benzene in 1986 from an underground pipeline that extended from the Wood River Refinery in Roxana to a barge-loading facility on the Mississippi River.

The complaint alleges that the defendants did nothing to clean up or otherwise address the toxic chemicals, including benzene, for more than 20 years.

Source: The Telegraph



Vapor intrusion? The right air filtration systems can help clean the air


Along with other measures to minimize the risks of vapor intrusion in single or two-family dwellings, environmental consultants often turn towards air cleaners with specialized blends of granular activated carbon to purify the air.


Electrocorp works with environmental consultants, consulting firms, environmental agencies and companies to provide industrial-strength air filtration solutions that safely remove chemicals, gases, vapors, fumes and odors in indoor environments.

Our powerful, portable air filters come equipped with the deepest beds of granular activated carbon on the market and provide a cost-effective indoor air quality solution with proven technologies to help reduce human exposure to contaminants.

RSU Series

Electrocorp’s small footprint, high-performance air filtration systems become efficient mitigation allies for challenging vapor intrusion and soil remediation projects that involve single- or two-family dwellings.

Recommended air filtration systems include:

• RAP Series
• RSU Series
• Numerical Series (5000, 6000, 8000)

Electrocorp offers units with negative and positive pressure and with custom carbon blends to target specific airborne chemicals and vapors.

Our engineers and air quality experts are standing by to provide you with a customized air filtration system that works.

Contact us today for more information:
Toll free: 1-866-667-0297
Website: www.electrocorp.net
Inquiries: info@electrocorp.net

  

Vapor intrusion: Danger seeping out of forgotten wells

Vapors can enter homes that were built
on or around old wells.

The search for oil and gas prompted prospectors and energy companies to drill as many as 12 million holes across the U.S. in the last 150 years. Many were plugged after they dried up, but hundreds of thousands were simply abandoned and forgotten.

Government reports have warned for decades that abandoned wells can provide pathways for oil, gas or brine-laden water to contaminate groundwater supplies or to travel up to the surface, according to a recent ProPublica article.

New wells sometimes disturb layers of rock and dirt near fragile old wells, leading to new cases of contamination. For Pennsylvania and other states sitting on top of the Marcellus Shale formation, the rapid growth of gas drilling may increase the danger of such contamination.

 
Vapor intrusion can lead to explosions in homes

In 2008, gas from an abandoned well leaked into a septic system in Pennsylvania and exploded when someone tried to light a candle in a bathroom, killing the person, according to a 2009 draft report by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

That report also documented at least two dozen other cases of gas seeping from old wells, including three where the drilling of new wells "communicated" with old wells, leaking gas into water supplies and forcing the evacuation of a home.

In February, methane from an old well made its way into the basement of a house in West Mifflin, triggering a small explosion. Two families had to be evacuated.

Such incidents rarely receive much attention outside the states and neighborhoods they affect. But as the nation's latest drilling boom continues, abandoned wells have begun attracting more attention, particularly in states where the earth is already pock-marked with holes left by earlier waves of extraction.

The task of finding, plugging and monitoring old wells is daunting to cash-strapped state governments. A shallow well in good condition can sometimes be plugged with cement for a few thousand dollars. But costs typically run into the tens of thousands, and a price tag of $100,000 or more isn't unusual.

Some regulators fear that the number of abandoned wells will grow when the current drilling boom runs its course. To prevent that, states require energy companies to post bonds before they begin building their wells. But they are often so low that it can be more economical for a company to forfeit its bond rather than plug its wells. In Pennsylvania, for instance, an energy company can cover hundreds of wells with a single $25,000 bond.

 
Birthplace of an industry

One of Pennsylvania's worst cases of gas migration occurred in Versailles. From 1919 through 1921, more than 175 gas wells were drilled in the town. Residents put wells in their back yards to heat their homes, packing them into the 25-by-100-foot lots.

The boom dried up when most of the wells proved unproductive. But in the 1960s, pockets of gas began leaking into homes. Some houses were condemned and demolished, and Versailles became a case study for federal scientists trying to locate old wells.

Some of the old wells were plugged. But more often, vents were installed to direct gas away from the homes. Today, dozens of pipes pop out of the ground in yards, behind garages and through houses, slowly leaking methane and hydrogen sulfide so the explosive gases don't accumulate. In 2009, Versailles received a $368,600 federal grant to maintain its aging vents. About 50 methane alarms have been installed in the town.

Nobody knows how much damage abandoned wells have caused in the United States over the years. Most states don't systematically track cases of contamination that result from abandoned wells, said Mike Nickolaus, special projects director for the Ground Water Protection Council, an association of state groundwater agencies.

Some regulators are concerned that fracking, which is used in most new wells, increases the possibility that old wells will be damaged or disturbed. The process injects water, sand and chemicals into wells at high pressure to release oil or gas. But by disrupting the earth it can also push gas and other contaminants into openings created by old wells.

Source: Nicholas Kusnetz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Editor’s note: This article has been edited for length.


Portable air cleaners – a cost-effective solution for VI in homes

Electrocorp’s small footprint, high-performance air filtration systems become efficient mitigation allies for challenging vapor intrusion and soil remediation projects that involve single- or two-family dwellings.

We work with environmental consultants, consulting firms, government and environmental agencies and companies to provide industrial-strength air filtration solutions that safely remove chemicals, gases, vapors, fumes and odors in indoor environments.

Our units can be configured with negative and positive pressure and with custom carbon blends to target specific airborne chemicals and vapors. Our engineers and air quality experts are standing by to provide you with a customized air filtration system that works.

Contact us today for more information.

Navy to tackle TCE vapor intrusion at Moffett Field

The news about vapor intrusion concerns in North America keep on coming. Workers in the buildings at Moffet Field in Mountain View, California, may soon be able to breathe easier, after the U.S. Navy agreed to clean up the toxic vapors that pollute their indoor air.

This announcement in the Mountain View Voice article comes after a long dispute between the Navy and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA tested the indoor air quality at the Moffet Field Museum “several times since 2008 and indoor air concentrations have exceeded EPA indoor air cleanup levels," according to EPA records.

The problem is a big underground plume of TCE, an industrial solvent that contaminated the soil and groundwater at Moffett years ago.


Navy accepts responsibility for toxic vapor cleanup

Under the agreement, the Navy may have to install ventilation systems or other mitigation measures, which can cost as much as $200,000 for a 20,000-square-foot building. But first it needs to find out the extent of the soil vapor intrusion. More than 30 occupied buildings at Moffett have not been tested since 2003.

Moffett Field used to be a base airport for the U.S. Navy and is now a joint military-civil airfield with moderate air traffic used by California Air National Guard, NASA,and others.


TCE a health risk

An air purifier with activated carbon
can remove airborne chemicals and odors.

TCE (or TRICHLOROETHYLENE) is a recognized carcinogen, and suspected additional health risks include toxic effects on the cardiovascular, developmental, gastrointestinal, the reproductive and respiratory systems as well as on human organs such as liver, kidney and skin.

It is ranked as one of the most hazardous compounds (worst 10%) to ecosystems and human health. If TCE has polluted the groundwater and soil beneath buildings, its vapors can enter buildings through cracks and fissures in the foundations. It needs to be filtered or aired out to prevent high concentrations in the ambient air.

If you’re concerned about vapor intrusion in your building, contact one of our Air Quality Experts now, or take advantage of our Live Support system.

Source:  http://www.mv-voice.com/news/show_story.php?story_id=3967

Fears of vapor intrusion prompt EPA studies

The news of suspected soil vapor intrusion in various homes in Haverford, Pennsylvania and Moraine, Ohio, has caused the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assign vapor intrusion studies in those areas.

In Haverford, the tests will record the presence of trichloroethylene in the groundwater at the Havertown Superfund site, explains an article in the Delaware Country Daily Times.

Apart from sampling TCE levels in homes, the tests also involve installing new groundwater wells.


Vapors seep through cracks in foundation

TCE is a nonflammable, colorless liquid that is often used as a solvent to clean or degrease metal parts. Chemical spills and improper disposal can cause it to enter groundwater.

TCE vapors can volatilize or off-gas through soil and pollute indoor air by seeping through cracks in basements and foundations. Long-term exposure has been linked to risk of nerve, kidney or liver damage and cancer in these organs.


Vapor intrusion a relatively new concern

According to EPA spokesperson Roy Seneca, who was quoted in the article, EPA “now looks more closely than ever at vapor intrusion as a potential pathway. Vapor intrusion was never considered so much in the past to be a problem.

“If there was TCE in groundwater, but a public water system was in place, it wasn’t looked upon as a potential health concern. But vapor intrusion is something they look upon now as a ... concern.”

It can take up to six weeks to get results back from the laboratory.


Vapors at former auto plant sites a concern in Ohio

In Moraine, Ohio, 60 residences will be checked for vapor intrusion close to where the former GM plant operated.

GM and Motors Liquidation Co., which now owns the former plant site, have been tracking a plume of contaminated water, according to an article in the Dayton Daily News.

EPA has asked residents to sign an open access agreement. The organization has already tested groundwater and ground vapors, a spokesperson said, and they now want to check if vapors have entered homes southwest of the former manufacturing site.

Previously, groundwater around former plant sites has been found contaminated with petroleum-based chemicals or VOCs.


Industrial air cleaners a powerful ally against soil vapor intrusion

Vapor intrusion is an emerging problem in North America. The phrase "soil vapor intrusion" refers to the process by which chemicals move from an underground source into the indoor air of the buildings above.

RAP series

The chemicals seep into the soil and enter a building though cracks in basement floors and walls or openings around pipes or wires.

As a result of a difference in pressure, a building’s HVAC system can actually draw these chemical vapors into a building.

Electrocorp works with environmental consultants to provide industrial air cleaning solutions for facilities and residential dwellings affected by vapor intrusion.

Contact an Electrocorp air quality representative today for more information on vapor intrusion and our advanced activated carbon filtration systems designed to safely remove chemicals, gases, fumes and odors.

Sources: 

• http://www.daytondailynews.com/business/epa-wants-to-test-home-air-in-moraine-1077767.html
• http://delcotimes.com/articles/2011/02/11/news/doc4d54b7c9319b8328062319.txt

Powerful Industrial Air Cleaners for Soil Vapor Intrusion

Vapor Intrusion is an emerging problem in North America.

The phrase "soil vapor intrusion" refers to the process by which chemicals move from an underground source into the indoor air of the buildings above.

The chemicals seep into the soil and enter a building though cracks in basement floors and walls or openings around pipes or wires.

As a result of a difference in pressure, a building’s HVAC system can actually draw these chemical vapors into a building.

Electrocorp works with environmental consultants to provide industrial air cleaning solutions for facilities and residential dwellings affected by vapor intrusion.

Contact an Electrocorp air quality representative today for more information on vapor intrusion and our advanced activated carbon filtration systems designed to safely remove chemicals, gases, fumes and odors.