TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Report Gives Raytheon 90 Days To Develop Cleanup Plan

ADVERTISEMENT

By MARK DOUGLAS

mdouglas@wfla.com

Published: January 31, 2009

ST. PETERSBURG - State environmental officials have approved a report from Raytheon that starts the clock ticking on cleanup of a groundwater pollution plume that has been spreading for decades through a St. Petersburg neighborhood.

Last March, many residents in the Azalea neighborhood were surprised and upset to learn that industrial waste from the Raytheon defense plant site had been creeping under homes, parks and playgrounds in the area since 1999.

The problem was first discovered on the Raytheon property in 1991 and reported to the state Department of Environmental Protection. But the agency did not alert most neighborhood residents until News Channel 8 broke the story.

The approval of the new report, called a "Site Assessment Report Addendum," follows at least 14 years of testing and evaluation by Raytheon under the guidance and direction of DEP regulators.
Raytheon now has 90 days to develop a long-term cleanup plan for the affected area, which extends at least half a mile from the plant into a mostly residential area.

DEP approval of Raytheon's evaluation comes despite recent test results filed in U.S. District Court by experts working for homeowners who are proposing a class-action lawsuit against Raytheon.

These experts say they have scientific evidence showing the size of the groundwater pollution plume is substantially larger than Raytheon estimates and that toxic vapor from contaminated soil is penetrating homes in the area.

At a community forum Jan. 15 to discuss DEP's findings, the agency's Regional Director Deborah Getzoff told a reporter her staff did not have the resources "to go poking around some court files" in search of new test results.

The DEP, Florida Department of Health and Raytheon all say there is no "pathway to exposure" from chemicals in the groundwater that might endanger residents.

Plaintiffs' lawyers insist their data shows residents are at risk because their testing shows a correlation between chemicals in the soil and vapors inside a dozen homes they tested.

Reporter Mark Douglas can be reached at (727) 536-9603.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT