Solutia Inc. has begun fulfilling a federal order to test for PCBs in local ditches and on residential properties, regulators said Tuesday.
Doing that requires cooperation from residents who may be suspicious of Solutia. The company was formerly Monsanto, which emitted the pollutant from its plant for decades.
Some residents have been calling the Environmental Protection Agency to express worries about allowing the company on their properties, said Steve Spurlin, the on-site manager for EPA's Anniston Superfund investigation.
"We didn't do a lot of outreach to tell people what was coming down the pipeline," Spurlin said. "However, this is a legitimate action that they are required to do.
"Solutia is required to obtain access just like we are," he added. "They've been following the appropriate protocol. We're watching them closely."
So far, Solutia has received permission from 15 to 20 percent of the property owners along the Ninth Street ditch, where the company plans to sample for PCBs and hazardous metals, reported Craig Branchfield, Solutia's manager for remedial projects. The Ninth Street ditch was the discovery point for lead contamination in western Anniston by EPA investigators last year.
Solutia sent out approximately 50 letters to property owners and leasees who live near the ditch three weeks ago. Branchfield didn't know how soon the company would begin sampling.
So far, Solutia has completed PCB testing in the 11th Street ditch, which runs parallel to the street and is not directly tied to residential properties, and has begun sampling residential properties around the plant for both PCBs and lead.
The company will sample seven properties next week, Branchfield said.
In previous efforts, EPA sampled nearly 70 percent to 80 percent of the homes in the PCB-contaminated zones in a several-mile crescent around the Solutia plant. Last October, Solutia agreed to test - with EPA oversight - the rest of the properties and the ditches, which number in the hundreds.
Since last year, EPA has identified 11 homes that are eligible for immediate PCB removal. Solutia has not been allowed access to those properties, some of which are owned by people involved in pollution lawsuits against the company.
So far, Solutia has spent $40 million in Anniston on PCB-related projects, Branchfield said.
That does not include the combined $80 million settlements by Solutia in two recent PCB lawsuits in federal and state courts.
