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| Ameren to Test New Cleanup Method for Downtown Site |
It's not new, but it's new to Illinois -- Ameren says they're partnering with the state E-P-A to test a method of cleaning up part of a downtown Galesburg property that has been the subject of continued legal wrangling.
Ameren announced Tuesday that starting Monday, they'll begin work on the former McCabe Scrap Metal property at Ferris and Cedar Streets, to conduct a first of its kind pilot test to see if a process called in-situ solidification will work to mitigate the potential effects of coal tars in the ground from the land's days as a manufactured gas plant.
Brett Carney is a contractor working on the project for Ameren, and tells WGIL ISS hasn't been done in Illinois before, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been done before.
"It's not a new method, it's been used on numerous other MGP sites around the country and many other environmental sites. So it's not a new method, it's been proven successful for this type of remediation."
Carney says if the testing works, it would likely make the soil stronger while not possibly spreading the chemicals in the ground to other neighboring sites.
He says you'd normally simply dig up the land, get rid of the contaminated soil, and fill the hole. But, Carney says you can't do that here, because the land is so close to railroad tracks.
The site is part of a larger parcel that is partially owned by Ethel Carlson, and has been the subject of legal action ongoing between the Carlsons and Ameren, based on how long it's taken to get to the cleanup stage. |
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| 11 24 10 by Newsroom |
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