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'Mount Dioxin' reburial estimated at $25-million

The EPA's plan for mounds of toxic waste kept covered at Pensacola for 13 years draws fire from environmentalists.

PENSACOLA - A $25-million proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency to permanently store contaminated soil at a toxic waste site dubbed "Mount Dioxin" has drawn fire from a local environmental group.

The cleanup plan for 344,250 tons of toxic soil, kept in mounds covered by plastic sheeting for the past 13 years, would be nothing more than a coverup, said Frances Dunham of Citizens Against Toxic Exposure.

"It's sweeping hazardous waste under the rug and invites new polluting industry on this site," Dunham said Wednesday.

The cleanup would be done to commercial and industrial reuse standards. The citizens group wanted the cleanup to meet a residential standard, but Pensacola and Escambia County officials last month joined with the EPA to endorse the less stringent criteria.

EPA remedial project manager W. David Keefer defended the proposal to rebury the contaminated dirt inside a protective clay liner capped with clean soil at the former Escambia Wood Treating Co. site.

"Onsite containment is well understood technology," Keefer said. "It completely isolates the waste from humans and the environment."

It also would cost less than most other solutions, such as offsite disposal or incineration, for the 26-acre Superfund site.

"As stewards of tax dollars, we are expected to find the best resolution," Keefer said.

The EPA already has spent millions to excavate the soil and relocate about 350 families from neighborhoods surrounding the site. Residents of about 50 more homes also would be given the option of moving, Keefer said.

Mount Dioxin is the EPA's third-largest relocation behind Times Beach, Mo., and Love Canal at Niagara Falls, N.Y. All three sites were contaminated with dioxin, which has been linked to cancer and other illnesses.

The EPA will hold a public discussion about the reburial plan Sept. 1. Citizens can make written comments through Sept. 15.

The soil originally was excavated to halt groundwater contamination. The EPA plans to deal with already-contaminated groundwater separately, but has not yet offered a plan.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has signed off on the reburial plan. The state will pick up 10 percent of the cost.

The EPA considered seven alternatives, including doing nothing. Five would have required removing at least some of toxins, but Keefer said none would have protected health or the environment any more than onsite reburial.

[Last modified August 19, 2005, 01:04:19]