Stauffer study to look at sinkhole risk

The long-awaited work begins Tuesday, but some residents already question the value of the data from the Superfund site.

By ROBERT FARLEY, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 14, 2002

TARPON SPRINGS -- Would the weight of piling up contaminated soil at the Stauffer Chemical Superfund site trigger a sinkhole?

A study to begin Tuesday aims to answer that question once and for all.

Some residents fear that if a large mound of tainted soil caused a sinkhole, it could send contamination from the former phosphorus processing plant directly into the drinking water supply.

The long-awaited geophysical study commissioned by Stauffer Management Co. is expected to be completed by the end of the year. It also might reveal the existence and location of hundreds of drums believed to have been buried there.

Stauffer site manager Frank McNeice said Technos Inc. of Miami, which will assess the site conditions and the potential for a sinkhole, is a world leader in its field. He expects the surveys to provide more than enough information to satisfy the public's concerns.

"We're going to have mountains of data generated by these tests," McNeice said.

In all, a grid pattern of surveys that totals more than 110 miles will be conducted on the 130-acre site, he said.

The Stauffer plant had begun processing phosphate ore into elemental phosphorus in 1947. It closed in 1981. After officials found high levels of arsenic, lead and radium-226, as well as four contaminants known to or suspected of causing lung cancer, the site was put on the EPA's Superfund list in 1994.

McNeice said the study will entail conducting a series of studies of the entire site using several types of equipment, including ground-penetrating radar, multiple frequency electromagnetics and magnetometers. Comparing the various results will give a clearer picture of what the subsurface looks like, he said.

The sinkhole issue came to a head during a series of hearings in early 2000 under pressure from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ombudsman Robert Martin and his chief investigator, Hugh Kaufman. In July 2000, under pressure from Martin, U.S. Rep. Mike Bilirakis, R-Tarpon Springs, and others, Stauffer executives agreed to put the controversial mound-and-cap cleanup plan on hold until further testing was completed.

The plan calls for contaminated soil to be pushed into several big mounds, each sealed with a watertight cap. The idea is to stabilize the waste and to prevent water from washing toxic chemicals into the groundwater by trickling through the tainted soil.

Stauffer also hopes to move forward shortly with a groundwater study as well as a study to determine the long-term effectiveness of the mound-and-cap plan.

"These geophysical studies should answer many of the concerns the community has with the proposed remediation of the Stauffer site," said Carlene Hobbs, who heads the Anclote Community Advisory Group.

Not everyone shares her optimism.

"Stauffer data has proven to be unreliable," said Mary Mosley of Tarpon Springs, a longtime opponent of the mound-and-cap plan. "I can't say I'm excited about it."

The tests are geared only toward proving that the mound-and-cap is workable, Mosley said. The companies overseeing the testing, O'Brien and Gere Engineers Inc., and Technos Inc., were hired by Stauffer.

"They (Stauffer) buy whatever information they want," Mosley said.

Mosley is convinced the mound-and-cap plan would trigger a sinkhole. She notes that four sinkholes opened up about a half-mile from the Stauffer site on a property where soil and water from the Anclote River dredging project were being deposited two years ago.

Heather Malinowski, secretary of the Pinellas-Pasco Technical Advisory Group, a watchdog group known as Pi-Pa-TAG, remains skeptical about whether the geophysical study will provide the information the community needs.

"I'm hopeful, but I can't say I'm confident," Malinowski said. "It is the right thing to do to go back and do the studies that should have been done before. . . . I'm just not sure the studies are designed to get all the needed data."

Malinowski also said it is "ludicrous" that tests promised nearly two years ago are just now about to begin. She hopes the delay means the tests will be done properly, with all of the necessary review.

EPA project manager Nestor Young could not be reached for comment on Friday, but the EPA reviewed and approved the geophysical study.

The geophysical study also will evaluate the presence of buried drums or storage tanks on the site, "if they exist," McNeice said.

In the late 1970s, Stauffer reported that it had buried 900 drums filled with phosphorus-containing material, McNeice said. Most of the drums have probably long since corroded away, he said. So far, he said, they have found the remnants of only about half a dozen.

Even if there are drums buried on the site, "It doesn't mean there is any imminent risk to anybody," McNeice said. Phosphorus only ignites when in contact with air, and is harmless if left buried in the ground, he said.

Results of the study should be released to the public by the end of the year, he said.

-- Robert Farley can be reached at (727) 445-4185 or farley@sptimes.com.

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