Months after discovering that radioactive waste and poisonous pesticides could also be buried below two fashionable Bay Space parks, state regulators have rejected Berkeley’s plan to check for contaminants as inadequate.
In January, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water High quality Board knowledgeable the cities of Albany and Berkeley {that a} former chemical plant had disposed of 11,100 tons of business waste at their municipal landfills a long time in the past. The revelation got here after the Division of Poisonous Substance Management shared a 1980 doc detailing the disposal information of Stauffer Chemical Co.’s Richmond plant.
Berkeley’s landfill has since been transformed into 90-acre César Chávez Park, whereas Albany’s has advanced right into a 40-acre leisure space referred to as the Bulb.
The water board demanded the cities to submit plans by April to scan these areas for cancer-causing gamma radiation and pattern for banned pesticides, together with DDT.
Albany’s plans for the Bulb had been permitted and testing is predicted to start this month. Berkeley’s proposal for César Chávez , nevertheless, was denied because the water board cited main considerations with town’s methodology.
Berkeley’s contractor, SCS Engineers, referred to as for an inspector to stroll in lengthy, straight strains throughout César Chávez with a radioactivity detector. However the plan allowed for spacing as much as 100 toes between every walked path, which means “it could end in a good portion of the positioning not being surveyed,” based on a Might 16 letter from Eileen White, the manager officer of the regional water board.
“A complete floor scan ought to cowl one hundred pc of the landfill floor, or as near that as attainable,” White stated within the letter to SCS Engineers.
SCS Engineers additionally beneficial that the radioactivity measured at César Chávez be in comparison with Blair Southern Pacific Landfill, a hazardous waste dump in Richmond that accepted Stauffer’s waste and is fenced off to forestall public entry. The Berkeley-hired agency proposed flagging areas for additional analysis if gamma radiation detectors attain 80,000 counts per minute or larger.
The standard background studying is 60 counts per minute.
The Albany Bulb shall be examined for radioactivity, following regulators’ approval of town’s plan.
(Paul Kuroda / For The Instances)
White, the water board government, stated Berkeley’s proposed benchmarks for what warranted additional investigation had been “excessively excessive.” She argued that if SCS was intent on evaluating radiation at César Chávez to background ranges, it ought to discover a close by web site that’s unaffected by chemical waste.
The water board has given Berkeley till July 1 to submit a brand new plan.
Berkeley spokesperson Matthai Chakko stated town has complied with all regulatory necessities from the water board. Amending testing plans, he stated, is usually a part of the method.
“It’s customary follow for regulated entities to submit proposed work plans to regulators for steering, evaluation, and revision earlier than the plans are in the end permitted,” Chakko stated.
