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JOHN DECKER jdecker@leader.net
Friday, January 28, 2000 Page: 1A
JACKSON TWP. – Cheryl Hritz, in no uncertain terms, told officials from a
pipeline company that they had ruined her dream house.
She now refers to her dream-come-true home as a “disease.”
Hritz was just one of several hundred anxious residents who packed the
township fire hall Thursday night looking for answers about last week’s
gasoline downpour, which forced the evacuation of about 100 homes.
But Hritz and others who spoke up at the first public meeting since the
leak were searching for more than answers.
They wanted guarantees.
They wanted one of the Sun Co. Inc. officials sitting at a head table to
tell them that they and their children would not be hit with some mysterious
ailment years from now because of the gasoline that is now swimming in the
soil.
That promise never came.
“Everybody in this room is holding their breath,” Hritz said in a tearful
plea to the officials from the gas company, which owns MD112the gasoline
transfer station located a few hundred feet off Huntsville Road.
On Jan. 19, a 1-inch valve on the pipeline burst and sent what Sun
officials are reporting as 4,500 to 5,500 gallons of high octane grade
gasoline shooting into the air and into the earth and an unnamed tributary
that floats into Browns Creek.
The company reports that about 1,500 gallons have been taken out of the
soil and water, and about 300 yards of affected soil was removed.
Industrial-size vacuum trucks that have been sucking up gasoline and vapors
from the ground will soon be replaced by permanent systems, said Marilyn Shup,
a Sun logistics manager.
John Nyce, vice president of Sun Pipe Line Co., a division of Sun Co. Inc.,
offered an apology to the crowd before he began the official presentation.
Later in the meeting, Nyce was peppered with the questions about the long-term
effects of the spill.
Although he could not offer any guarantees, Nyce said the company has been
successful in cleaning up other spills.
“I realize we have a long way to go to restore your peace of mind,” he
said.
The pump station, which was constructed in the late 1940s, is part of a
pipeline system that originates in Reading and ends in Syracuse. Nyce said the
faulty valve has been sent to an independent laboratory to determine why it
failed. The valve was replaced and the transfer station was back in operation
on the same day as the leak.
An official from the state Department of Environmental Protection said its
scientists are trying to determine the area of contamination. A fact sheet
handed out at the meeting states that the DEP believes the “plume of
contamination” is moving with the surface water, toward Chase Road.
Private well sampling is scheduled to begin today and continue through the
weekend. Results will be given to the homeowner or resident.
A resident of Chase Road who lives about 300 feet from the leak said during
the meeting that he has a deep well and has not yet been affected and wanted
to know if he could expect a change for the worse.
“I don’t want my (17-month-old baby girl) taking a bath in contaminated
water,” the resident said.
Shup said all of the deep wells remain clean and shallow wells have been
impacted, which is “not a big surprise.” She explained that the gasoline is
moving fairly rapidly and that means wells could clean themselves just as
quickly, but said that is not a guarantee.
Edward Chesnovitch, of Huntsville Road, raised the question of Methyl
Tert-Butyl Ether (MTBE), an additive for unleaded gasolines. Breathing small
amounts of MTBE is known to have caused nose and throat irritation, headaches,
nausea, dizziness and mental confusion.
Nyce could not provide the actual level of MTBE contained in the spilled
gas.
There is no data on the effects of people drinking MTBE and no evidence it
causes cancer, according to information from the state Department of Health.
A pregnant Tina Wall returned to her Chase Road home Thursday for the first
time after an extended stay at the East Mountain Inn in Plains Township, where
the Sun Co. paid for her stay.
“I couldn’t take the motel anymore,” Wall said as her son, Ryan, 7,
cuddled up in a quilt.
Most residents in the 900 block of Chase Road are affected by the spill,
and those who discussed how the leak has impacted their lives said Sun has
been gracious in its effort to make life as comfortable as possible during the
cleanup. Many of the residents can’t trust their water supply, so the company
has provided bottled water.
Nyce made it clear throughout the meeting that crews will not abandon the
residents. He assured them that Sun will remain at the site until the spill is
cleaned and will continue to test the area. He said the company will also work
with residents who have concerns about their property values.
Call Decker at 829-7222.