GE commits to cleaning chemicals out of creeks

ROME - General Electric has agreed to voluntarily clean up PCB chemicals in creek beds, where concentrations are as high as 300 times the state limit. <br> <br> GE will dig 3 feet deep over more than 3 acres and ship the contaminated soil to an industrial waste dump. <br> <br> ``I would say that&#39;s something that you wouldn&#39;t want kids playing in,&#39;&#39; said David Yardumian, a project engineer for Georgia&#39;s Environmental Protection Division. <br> <br> GE&#39;s Rome plant, which closed in 1998, used polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, as coolant in the manufacture of transformers from 1953 until the 1970s, when PCBs were identified as a possible cause of cancer. PCBs are labeled probable human carcinogens by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. <br> <br> The soil will be excavated at three locations where the PCB concentrations exceeded state standards, said GE Plant Manager Richard Lester. <br> <br> ``As soon as we can get in there and work these areas, we&#39;ll start removing the soils that are affected by the PCBs,&#39;&#39; Lester said. <br> <br> The highest single reading of 158 samples taken hit 430 ppm of PCBs. The state must be notified of any PCB reading above 1.55 ppm. A majority of the samples didn&#39;t find dangerous levels of PCBs, but a few showed locations that need cleaning up. <br> <br> GE decided to move forward with the cleanup without getting approval from the EPD first. The company hopes to avoid a long debate with the state government over the best way to clean the area by getting it done now, Lester said. <br> <br> ``We just want to go in and get it out,&#39;&#39; he said. ``We&#39;re not getting into a risk discussion here with the state.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Yardumian praised GE for taking responsibility for the PCBs and initiating the cleaning. <br> <br> He said GE still must submit a cleanup plan to the EPD, and the agency will make sure the areas were effectively purified. <br> <br> ``I would think they need to capture as much contamination as possible and not just dispense it into the water,&#39;&#39; he said. <br> <br> GE wants to start the cleanup by April and complete it over the summer. The company must get permission from landowners and permits from the government before starting. <br> <br> Three sites on Little Dry Creek and Horseleg Creek will be cleaned.

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