Document EqGZJGnv6BG5mzRe9EZ2ydGen

THE COURIER-JOURNAL, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1983 d) dc-UJL^,, (j OQ By JUDY BRYANT Courifrf'Jcurnal Staff Writer BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- To avoid a lengthy legal battle ever PCB con tamination in Bloomington, Westingbouse Electric Corp. has agreed to spend at least $13 million to destroy soil and materials where the cancercausing chemical has been found. Westinghouse and Bloomington of ficials announced a "conceptual agreement" last night that calls for the company to build and operate an incinerator in Bloomington that can destroy PCBs. The site and design of the pro posed incinerator have not been se lected, according to the officials. But they said a more detailed and final agreement is expected by. year's end. Although the agreement provides lew details of Westinghouse's incin eration plan, the announcement is the first confirmation in eight years that company olficials would be willing to finance the PCB cleanup. Polychlorinated biphenyls -- a toxic chemical banned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1979 -- were discovered in Bloom ington in 1975. But Robert Pugliese, vice presi dent and general counsel for Wes tinghouse, said yesterday that the company is net accepting responsi bility for widespread PCB contami nation in the city and Monroe Coun ty. . Pugliese and Joseph Karaganis, a Chicago attorney representing Bloomington, said two lawsuits pending against Westinghouse in U.S. District Court over PCB con- ,lamination will continue, despite the agreement. Both the U.S. Justice Department and the city of Bloomington have filed suits against the company to recover damages and cleanup costs involving several PCB-contaminaied sites. . But both men said they hope the proposed plan will eventually elimi nate the need for costly court bat tles. They said future negotiations will be aimed at settling the pending suits. "We're going to get rid of the PCBs," Pugliese said during a news conference in Bloomington to an nounce the agreement. "We have no responsibility ... we're still in litiga- tion ... and will continue to work with the city." The agreement, which Mayor Tomi Allison said has the informal approval of the Bloomington City Council and the city's Utilities Serv ice Board, says that: Westinghouse will remove aitdl incinerate designated PCB-contami- r.ated soils and materials from the city's former sewage-treatment plant and from four other sites in volved in the pending federal litiga tion. --' The sites are Neal's Landfill, Lemon Lane Landfill, Bennett's Quarry, and the former WinstonThomas treatment plant in Monroe County, and Neal's Dump in Owen County. The Monroe County Landfill, where PCBs have also been discov ered, is not named in any of the lawsuits. Pugliese said the county landfill or any new sites where PCBs may be discovered will be reviewed case by case for inclusion in the inciner ation plan. ^ The city will provide an ac ceptable site for the incinerator's construction and operation. Leo Duffy, general manager and waste technician in Westinghouse's service division, said the approxi mately 150-foot-square incinerator would require only "a few acres." Duffy said preliminary plans are lor two incinerator modules capable of processing a total of 100 tons of material a day. Duffy said Westing house will provide access roads, util ities and perhaps a rail spur to the incinerator. \s The incinerator will be fully li censed and permitted by appropri ate local, state and federal authori ties in a cooperative effort by Bloomington and Westinghouse. Karaganis said officials will ask EPA to provide engineering assis tance in developing the incinerator. The incinerator will be fueled by garbage, refuse and solid waste. Mayor Allison described the plan as an "effort to use one environmental concern -- garbage -- to destroy another environmental concern -- PCBs." Once the PCBs are destroyed, the ) Incinerator will be available for the city to use for refuse disposal. _/ Officials said it will be designed, located and constructed to generate both sieam and electricity for use by the city and by local industries. For nearly 20 years, until at least 1976, Westinghouse used PCBs as an insulating fluid in electrical equip ment manufactured at its Blooming ton plant. And for years waste haulers dumped discarded equipment con taminated with the chemical in sev eral local landfills and other sites. The chemical is known to cause cancer is laboratory animals and has been linked to cancer in hu mans. PCBs initially were discovered in city sewer lines leading from the Westinghouse plant and in thou sands of tons of treated sludge that for years had been provided free as fertilizer for local farms and gar dens. During the past several years, PCBs have been found at several area sites. Neal's Landfill, the Lem on Lane landfill and Bannett's Quar ry' are on the EPA's priority list to receive federal cleanup money. In early September, Mayor Alli son said tests also have found trace levels of the chemical in the city's drinking water. Previous negotiations with Westinghouse to clean up the chemical have been unsuccessful. But local authorities said yesterday that they are willing to forget the past. And they promised vigorous ef forts -- through community forums, public meetings and news briefings -- to keep the public informed of developments. Mayor Allison and others repeat ed assurances that Bloomington is eager to work with Westinghouse and to maintain good relations with the company, despite unfavorable publicity over PCBs in Bloomington.. "We re trying to put all that be hind us." Pugliese said, "and get on with progress." PCB-ARCH-EXT0378321