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Schedule: No work activities are currently taking place at the Marjol Site. As soon as weather permits, import of structural fill material and the excavation of the sediments from the basin will take place. We will update this web site when more information is available as to when work activities at the Site will resume.

Air Monitoring: The perimeter ambient air (24-hour) high-volume air sampling continues to be conducted every 6 days. High-volume air sampler #4 (upwind monitor) has been relocated to a location (still upwind) where access to it will be safer in snow and ice conditions.

Stained Soils in Excavation Area O

During excavations in the vicinity of the former office and maintenance building at the site, soils with a strong petroleum odor were encountered. These materials were excavated, sampled and determined to be acceptable to be placed in the Containment Area. On June 26, 2009, Gould submitted a report to USEPA and PADEP that showed that it was old diesel fuel and presented information on the material that was not able to be removed and remained in the ground. A meeting was held with USEPA, PADEP and Cocciardi & Associates (Throop Borough’s Compliance Liaison) to discuss the report on November 3, 2009. Additional information was provided by Gould to respond to agency comments on the report and the report was revised and submitted to USEPA and PADEP on January 15, 2010. While the agencies are still reviewing the finalized report, at this time they do not expect to require additional investigation of the stained soils area since the levels remaining in the ground are below the state’s cleanup levels.

Off-Site Verification Sampling

Off-site verification post-construction sampling was performed the week of November 16, 2009 after all soil excavation activities were completed. (Note: There are still some contaminated sediments in the basin that will be removed in the Spring of 2010.) This sampling program is designed to confirm that remedial activities did not cause off-site contamination. Five residential properties in the vicinity of the Marjol Site that had previously been remediated during the residential clean-up were sampled. A total of 20 samples were collected from each property during the pre-construction sampling (May 2008), and another 20 samples were collected during post-construction sampling (November 2009). Typically, half of the pre– and post-construction samples were sent to a lab and analyzed, and the other half was archived for future analysis if required. As per the USEPA/PADEP approved Final (100%) Remedial Design Plan, analytical results from the post-remediation sampling event were compared to the results from the pre-remediation sampling event to see if there was a statistically significant increase of more than 100 mg/kg between the pre-construction and post-construction sample results. For all five properties, the comparison showed that soil lead concentrations before and after construction were essentially the same with the largest change in mean soil lead concentration being less than 20 mg/kg. Statistically, there was not an increase in soil lead of more than 100 mg/kg at a 95% confidence level. This means that there is less than a 5% chance that there actually was an increase of more than 100 mg/kg when the sample results indicate that there was not. Therefore, as per the Final (100%) Design Plan, no additional off-site sampling is required. A report on the Off-Site Verification Sampling was submitted to USEPA and PADEP on February 15, 2010, as part of Quarterly Report #14. (Click here to review the text from the Off-Site Verification Sampling Report.) The full report may be viewed at the Marjol Community Relations Office at 502 George Street in Throop, PA or at the repository in the Throop Borough Building, located at 436 Sanderson Street in Throop, PA.

Status of Project

Construction of the Final Remedy at the Marjol Battery Site is continuing through the final stages with several notable milestones having been reached.

EXCAVATION COMPLETE - Excavation of contaminated fill material has been completed; the contaminated material was placed in the Containment (Cap) Area (CA) and covered with imported, clean (i.e., background levels of lead and other possible contaminants) solidified fill material for protection. With all of the excavated contaminated fill material at the Site having been placed in the CA and the CA having a layer of clean solidified fill material on top of it, this means that none of the surfaces at the site have lead levels above the USEPA/PADEP Final Remedy clean-up standard. Some sediments with lead levels above the clean-up standard remain covered by water in the sedimentation basin. These sediments will be removed when the weather is dry enough. The sediments will be solidified, placed in the Containment Area, and covered with either a clean solidified fill layer or plastic over the winter. In the spring, the sediments will be spread and compacted just before the geosynthetic layers of the cap are installed.

STATUS OF SOLIDIFICATION – The bottom layer of the CA cap is a solidified layer comprised of three separate 9-inch lifts of solidified material. Solidification of all three lifts of solidified material was completed on November 23, 2009. Off-site sources of clean fill were used for solidification of the third lift across the entire CA because there was an insufficient volume of contaminated soil in the last excavation area for the entire thickness of this bottom layer of the cap. Having the top solidified lift created with clean fill also provides greater protection for the contaminated materials over the winter as well as in the extremely unlikely event of erosion of the cover soils and a tear in the geosynthetics in the future.

INSTALLATION OF GEOSYNTHETICS (PLASTIC LAYERS OF THE CAP) – Now that the solidified layer on the cap is completed, the next step is installation of the geosynthetic layers. Due to the onset of winter, geosynthetic installation will not take place until the spring of 2010.

WINTER STABILIZATION – Currently, permanent stabilization of the northern portion of the site with topsoil, seeding and erosion control measures is taking place. Temporary stabilization of the Containment Area surface and surrounding areas that are not at final grade is also occurring. All exposed, disturbed soils will be protected with either straw, jute matting or temporary erosion control mat depending on the slopes. Seeding of critical areas will also occur. The surface of the Containment Area will be protected with either straw jute matting and/or straw.

Throop Borough Fill Source

Throop Borough’s 48-acre property was used as the primary fill source. Throop Borough and Gould agreed that Gould would use the material from the 48 acres as backfill material on the Site. Using this material was a benefit to everyone. By removing fill from the Borough’s 48-acre property, the Borough got some necessary grading work done in preparation for future construction activities (a proposed park) that may take place on the property. Gould also agreed to install the base for a roadway along the haul road that was used so that the Borough will eventually have a secondary access route to its 48-acre property. The greatest advantage of using the Borough’s fill was that the trucks bringing the fill into the Site did not have to run on Borough roads.

The fill material from the borough property is a residue from prior mining called “red ash.” An NPDES permit from Lackawanna County and a regulated fill permit from PADEP were required and obtained without difficulty. The fill material has no connection with the Marjol lead operations, and is not contaminated with lead.

A haul road was constructed from the Borough’s 48-acre property to the Marjol site through the North Woods. Work on the Borough’s 48-acre property and on the haul road was conducted similar to any uncontaminated construction site where dust is controlled as a nuisance. The “No Visible Dust Rule” that is in effect on the Marjol Site was not in effect on the haul road or on the Borough’s property as those areas are not contaminated with lead. Trucks still use Delaware Street to bring in topsoil, stone, geosynthetics for the cap, and other items, but using the Borough’s 48 acres as a fill source significantly reduced the number of trucks that had to traverse Delaware Street.

Construction Information

Here is some basic information that may answer some of your important questions on how construction will affect those of you living near the Marjol Site:

1) When will construction start and when will it end?

The construction work began on May 12, 2008 and is projected to be completed in the spring of 2010.

2) What about the traffic and the noise?

All reasonable effort is being made to keep the traffic on Throop Borough roads to a minimum; however as with any construction site, there will be trucks, workers' vehicles and the noise of the equipment on-site.

3) What will the working hours be?

Working hours will be from approximately 6:30 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday (with the possibility of working until 7 pm when needed) and on Saturday, from approximately 6:30 AM to 2:30 PM. These days and times are consistent with Throop Borough ordinances. It is expected that there will be a period during the winter when there will be no work activities at the Site.