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U.S. EPA to hold public meeting on revised cleanup plan for Teledyne/Spectra-Physics Superfund Sites

05/22/2018
Contact Information: 
Soledad Calvino (calvino.maria@epa.gov)
415-972-3512

SAN FRANCISCO  – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will hold a public meeting on May 24 to present proposed changes to the existing remedy and cleanup plan for the former Teledyne Semiconductor and Spectra-Physics Lasers properties in Mountain View, California.

Both companies used volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including the chemical trichloroethene (TCE), in their manufacturing processes starting in the early 1960s. After VOCs were found in nearby soil and groundwater, the properties were declared Superfund sites in 1987 (Teledyne) and 1991 (Spectra-Physics).

Cleanup work at the sites has included removing contaminated soil, extracting soil vapor, and extracting and treating groundwater. EPA’s proposed changes would incorporate advances in groundwater cleanup technologies and address vapor intrusion (when VOCs move through soil under a building and enter the indoor air) to provide a faster and more protective cleanup. The proposed changes include injecting microorganisms into the groundwater to promote breakdown of VOCs—also called bioremediation—and incorporating indoor air testing and mitigation efforts, as needed, to control for vapor intrusion.

EPA will present details of the proposed plan and accept oral and written comments at the public meeting:

When: 6 p.m., Thursday, May 24, 2018

Where: Mountain View Senior Center, 266 Escuela Ave., Mountain View, CA, 94040

Written comments may also be submitted through June 1, 2018, to Angela Sandoval, EPA Project Manager, 75 Hawthorne St. (SFD-7-1), San Francisco, CA 94105, sandoval.angela@epa.gov.

To view the proposed cleanup plan and for more information about the Teledyne and Spectra-Physics Superfund Sites, please visit: www.epa.gov/superfund/teledyne and www.epa.gov/superfund/spectra-physics.  

Superfund Task Force. In May 2017 Administrator Scott Pruitt established a task force to restore EPA's Superfund program to its rightful place   at the center of the Agency's core mission to protect health and the environment. Click here to learn more.