Last week, contractors began the final phase of a chemical clean-up project in Lullwater. On April 10, work began with the construction of a fence around the two sites. This final phase, according to Director of Environmental Health and Safety Frank Lisella, includes the removal and disposal of chemicals as well as site restoration. "Two separate contractors will be operating on site," he said. "Rollins Environmental Services will do the chemical waste area clean-up, and Nuclear Fuel Services will do the work in the radiation area."
The two companies will have a similar approach, said Lisella. "They will have to remove the clean overburden [the top layers of dirt] to get down to the contaminated material, and when they reach the areas of contamination, there will be a very detailed analysis and segregation process." At that point, chemicals will be separated by type, and contractors will determine the eventual disposal site for each type of material. Lisella said that the contractors will send the mildly contaminated soil to a landfill in Conley, Ga.; material with a higher level of contamination will go to Emile, Ala; contaminated material that reaches certain "trigger points" will go to the Rollins incinerator in Deer Park, Tex. The radioactive materials will either go to a disposal facility in Utah or in Barnwell, S.C., depending on the nature of the material.
Atlanta-based Lake Engineering will serve as an on-site monitor, said Lisella. That company will collect the samples and have them analyzed within 24 hours. Trucks transporting material from the site will leave by way of a temporary driveway that exits onto Williams Drive, in back of University Apartments, Lisella said. The entrance to Lullwater off Clifton Road will not accomodate the type of equipment being brought in, Lisella said.
During an earlier phase of the project, extensive sampling was done to determine the extent of the contamination. That sampling brought good news, according to Lisella, in that it appeared that the contamination was confined to the original trenches.
"With good luck and good weather, we anticipate that they should be finished by about the 10th of May," said Lisella. At that point, the site will be backfilled, restored and hydroseeded for future use.
-- Nancy M. Spitler
Douglas Wallace, the Woodruff Professor of Molecular Genetics and chair of the Department of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, will inaugurate the Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series, sponsored by the Faculty Council. The lecture, "Mitochondrial Genes; Transversing Through the Ages," will be given at 4 p.m. Monday, April 22, in 303 Geosciences, and an informal reception will follow.
The Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series was instituted by the Faculty Council to enhance the intellectual life of the faculty and to recognize eminent contributions of Emory faculty members as researchers, scholars and University citizens.